Stanford Gut-Check | by Jay
Ordinarily I would offer up a Flashback post right about now, talking about some grand game of years past where the Irish battled mightily and ended up victorious. So let's go waaay back...way back to November, 2005. Stanford was 5-5 going into the ND game last year, had just been whipped by Cal, and had lost to Div-1AA U.C. Davis earlier in the year. So last year before the Stanford game in Palo Alto we wrote this:
So we've come to the end of the season, and there's just enough left for one more turkey sandwich, one final helping of cranberry sauce, one last slice of pumpkin pie. We're off to Stanford to trim the Trees and ice a BCS bowl, and there's not much more to say about this game other than we should win it, and handily...Thorough domination? Most complete game we'd play all year? Heh. Edwards and backup QB Ostrander sliced us and diced us, TJ Rushing returned an 87-yard kickoff for a touchdown, and Brady threw two costly picks, one deep in Stanford territory, and another that led to Stanford TD. We needed a last-minute comeback drive and a Darius Walker touchdown with less than a minute to go to knock off Leland.
Still, most Saturdays against [Stanford] there'd be a chance for a letdown, and maybe even a 'trap' game for us. Stanford's got some movable parts on offense and a heady coach that usually would give us fits, and there's that little tradition of Stanford de-pantsing a good Notre Dame team from time to time.
Tomorrow won't be one of those games...I wouldn't be surprised to see a thorough domination, the first complete game we play all year.
So, what to expect today? We know how lousy this Stanford team has been. They're 0-5. Their woes are legion. I wouldn't be surprised to see a thorough...maybe the most complete...
No, I'm not going to say it.
