Game Recap: Stanford 37 Notre Dame 14

What would you like first, the bad stuff or the perspective stuff?  Considering the general tone of the Irish internet these last 36 hours, let's go ahead and get the bad stuff out of the way first.

The offense was miserable most of the day, reminding me a lot of 2007, when an overmatched defense hung in and hung in and was just left out to dry by their counterparts before finally cracking.  After spending the first half seeing all kinds of pressure, Dayne Crist and Brian Kelly could not adjust to the continual dropping of eight defensive players in the third and fourth quarters.  The offensive line was flummoxed as well, conceding sacks to three man rushes as players were looking around for more people to block.  Kelly and Crist both took responsibility, but you want and need the coaching staff to be able to make adjustments throughout the second half.  I thought the two playcalls at midfield at the start of the fourth quarter were both rather terrible, both Crist's incompletion and a poorly designed run with Jonas Gray. 

I also think the offensive ineptitude was so jarring because there was a trajectory to things prior to Saturday, as Crist continually and consistently improved from Purdue through Michigan State.  Stanford was a different caliber of defense playing a scheme he hadn't seen, and the results were not pleasant.  Again, this is both Crist's fourth career start and his fourth in Kelly's system, so hopefully we can chalk this up as a learning experience and not a harbinger of continued problems.  (If you're a crazy person, you would deem the coach, quarterback and offensive system a bust after this one game, and that's a totally legitimate thing to do.)

On defense, they hung in there as long as you could expect.  Two picks of the previously unblemished Andrew Luck, but too many long third down conversions.  (Most of these were slot receivers attacking the middle of the field, exposing perhaps the two biggest areas of concern on the Irish defense, outside linebacker and safety.)  The defensive line got minimal push and was a nonentity most of the day. Special teams were also an issue.  David Ruffer continues to be fantastic, but kick returns were awful and there was a major issue with punting again.

It was a poor effort by the offense and special teams, and the defense was too soft on third down.  Now, can we give some credit to Stanford?  That was a very good football team, with a quarterback some said would have gone number one in last year's draft and a punch of veterans Jim Harbaugh has been grooming into his fourth year.  Stanford absolutely embarrassed UCLA 35-0, and in their three other games, the Bruins lost a close one at Kansas State and hammered Houston and Texas in Austin.  And I know the final score was lopsided, but at the start of the fourth quarter, Notre Dame had the ball at midfield down 19-6.  We're going to know a lot more about how much credit Stanford should get versus blame for the Irish in two weeks, as the Cardinal take on Oregon and Southern Cal, but I don't think they're going to fade too from relevancy this season.

A few other notes for everyone jumping off bridges:

• The three teams that defeated Notre Dame are a combined 12-0 and all ranked in the Top 25. 
• Two of the other quarterbacks who have knocked off the Irish are in the Heisman conversation, and one of them had his worst game of the year against Notre Dame.
• Despite everyone on Rock's House getting lathered up over Harbaugh's power running game and the Kelly's Irish apparently being some sort of weak-willed, roll over and die team, the Cardinal averaged a whopping 3.8 yards per carry. 
• From what I'm reading, this Notre Dame team was supposed to be undefeated and because they're not, Kelly is clearly a failure.  From what I remember, this was a 6-6 team last year that was carried by their quarterback (3700 yards, 28 touchdowns a season ago) and an all-world wide receiver who would be regarded as one of the all-time greats if he played for better teams.  Both now play on Sundays.
• The idea that a coach could come in and completely change the culture of a team in four games playing against some quality competition is ridiculous.  "This sure looks a lot like last year!" you'll say, and I'll reply "Maybe because so many of the players are the same, perhaps?!".  I don't know how some of these critics had the patience to graduate from Notre Dame, as I'm sure they wanted to just wander over to the main building in October of their freshman year and demand their diploma. 

I'm as disappointed as anyone that the season has started at 1-3, but it's not like this wasn't a possibility, no matter if you were all-in on Kelly, cautiously optimistic or still pining for Mark Richt (who might be available!).  Here's what I wrote on the final day of August:

One reason things could not go as well?  Well, there are a lot of losses sitting there.  Purdue, Michigan State and Boston College all could have beaten the Irish last year if a bounce went there way.  Navy, Pitt, Stanford, Michigan and USC did.  Utah was undefeated two years ago and isn't afraid to play anyone.  Tulsa returns all of their skill players from an offensive system that can be trouble for anyone.  I'd safely chalk up Army and Western Michigan as W's, but after those two and Tulsa, there aren't a lot of games that you can count as a definite win.  If Notre Dame loses Saturday, then one of the Michigan speedsters get loose a couple times, you're now 0-2 and heading into a primetime game in East Lansing.  Then hosting possible number one pick Andrew Luck and a hard-hitting Stanford team.  Then to Boston College, then Dion Lewis, Greg Romeus and Jonathan Baldwin come to town.  There isn't a chance to breathe until mid-October, and by then the season could already be a lost cause.

1-3 is shocking and totally unforeseeable!....unless you actually thought about how the season could go before it started.  I'd certainly love for the record to be better than it is, but is there any reason to overreact now?  What will it achieve?  Can we at least wait a season?  Half a season?  I realize it is amazingly fun to spew vitriol and cast judgment, but let's see how the offense bounces back from its worst performance of the year, because we know the talent and pedigree is there.  And let's see how the defense works against two teams who have had serious issues scoring the football so far this year, as opposed to two of the best quarterbacks in the country. 

You've all seen the numbers on how first year coaches (Jim Harbaugh lost to the 2007 Irish team at home, and now he's just perfect), and you're well aware of how hot starts for the last two Irish coaches amounted to nothing.  There are eight games (hopefully nine) left in this season, so again, patience people.  It's not going to hurt anything to leave your "Jump to Conclusion" mat at home for a little longer.