Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 133 BY BRYAN DRISKELL In head coach David Shaw's first five sea- sons, Stanford won or tied for the top spot in the Pac-12 North four times and finished second once. However, last fall the Cardinal suffered three conferences losses for just the second time under Shaw, resulting in a third-place fin- ish in the division. Stanford will look to show it's not on a downward swing, despite the loss of its two best players. The Cardinal return 16 starters and face a schedule that should help it bounce back. "Once again the even-odd year split works for the Cardinal to produce a more favorable home-away schedule," explained Jacob Ray- burn, publisher of CardinalSportsReport.com. "Stanford hosts UCLA, Oregon, Washington, Notre Dame and Cal." Stanford is looking to build around its de- fense, despite losing star lineman Solomon Thomas, the No. 3 pick of the 2017 NFL Draft after posting eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss. "No one is expected to replace what Solo- mon Thomas was able to do. It will be a group effort," Rayburn said. "Defensive tackle Har- rison Phillips has the ability, if healthy, to be a very good player in the middle of the line, and he is one of the leaders of the team. "Third-year player Dylan Jackson is more mature after doing a good job just to hold down his spot last season. The other starter in Stan- ford's 3-4 is expected to be Eric Cotton, who is two years removed from being a tight end." Stanford's secondary is listed among the top five nationally by Athlon, Phil Steele's and Lindy's, while the linebackers are ranked the second-best group by Steele, which will make building the line easier. What the Cardinal re- ally need to once again climb to the top of the Pac-12 North is offensive improvement. "Last season, Stanford went through a stretch of games in the middle of the season when a combination of injuries, lack of experience and tough opponents caused the Cardinal to plum- met in nearly every noteworthy offensive statis- tic," Rayburn explained. "The Cardinal surged in the final three games of the regular season, but there needs to be better consistency." From Sept. 30 to Oct. 22 — a stretch of four games — Stanford averaged just 8.5 offensive points and 267.0 yards per game. The Cardinal lost three of those games, and its only win was a 17-10 victory over Notre Dame. In the final six games Stanford's offense bounced back, averaging 36.0 points and 446.3 yards per game. Carrying that over into the 2017 season without star running back Chris- tian McCaffrey will determine if Stanford is capable of getting back into Pac-12 title con- tention. ✦ 2017 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2016 Result Aug. 26 vs. Rice* W, 41-17 Sept. 9 at USC W, 27-10 Sept. 16 at San Diego State — Sept. 23 UCLA W, 22-13 Sept. 30 Arizona State — Oct. 7 at Utah — Oct. 14 Oregon W, 52-27 Oct. 26 at Oregon State W, 26-15 Nov. 4 at Washington State L, 42-16 Nov. 10 Washington L, 44-6 Nov. 18 California W, 45-31 Nov. 25 Notre Dame W, 17-10 * at Sydney, Australia QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 19-12 Last Meeting: Stanford 17, Notre Dame 10 (Oct. 10, 2016; South Bend) Head Coach: David Shaw, 64-17 (7th year) 2016 Results: 10-3 overall, 6-3 Pac-12 North (3rd); beat North Carolina 25-23 in the Sun Bowl Returning Starters: 16 (8 offense, 8 defense) 2017 Preseason Rankings: No. 11 by ESPN Foot- ball Power Index, No. 14 by Phil Steele's, No. 17 by Street & Smith's and Athlon, and No. 18 by Lindy's Did You Know?: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 2-5 against Stanford and has yet to defeat the Cardinal on the road … Stanford and LSU were the only programs to have two players chosen in the top 10 of the 2017 NFL Draft … Cornerback Quenton Meeks was named a preseason third- team All-American by Phil Steele's and Athlon. Prediction: Stanford 27, Notre Dame 24 STRENGTH: Secondary There isn't a better on-paper secondary on Notre Dame's schedule than the one Stanford will trot out this season. It is a deep, long group that is loaded with playmakers. Junior strong safety Justin Reid is poised for an all-star season, possessing the ability to im- pact the run and pass game. He is Stanford's top returning tackler with 57, including four stops behind the line and seven passes broken up. Stanford has three experienced cornerbacks re- turning, but junior Quenton Meeks is the best of the bunch. Meeks missed two games last season, and Stanford lost both while giving up an average of 43.0 points, 283.5 passing yards and seven of the 18 touchdown passes on the season. Meeks' dossier includes a 50-yard touchdown return off an interception at Notre Dame last year to spark the 17-10 win. Junior Alijah Holde, who missed all but four games last season, returns to the starting lineup to give Stanford a pair of 6-2 cornerbacks. Holder has broken up 14 passes in just 17 career games. With Holder out, senior Alameen Murphy stepped into the lineup and handled himself well. Defensive backs Terrence Alexander, Frank Bun- com and Ben Edwards would start for a lot of teams in the Pac-12, but they are relegated to backup duty at Stanford. CONCERN: Quarterback There are some question marks along the de- fensive line, but the quarterback position is the biggest concern right now. If healthy, junior Keller Chryst gives the Stan- ford offense a quality game manager. The Cardi- nal went 6-0 once Chryst was inserted into the lineup, and his 10-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is a big reason why. Chryst has good arm talent and prototype NFL size (6-5, 234), but his chance to make a big leap in his second season took a hit when he tore his ACL in the Sun Bowl victory over North Carolina. That injury caused Chryst to miss the entire spring, and he will just be getting back to full strength when fall camp starts. If Chryst is slow to heal, or if he fails to make the progress needed because of the missed training time, the Stanford offense could suffer a bit. Without star back Christian McCaffrey and graduated receiver Michael Rector, the Cardinal lack the game-breakers to threaten defenses vertically — which means more will be put on the shoulders of the quarterback. Should Chryst go down again or fail to progress as hoped for, the job will go back to senior Ryan Burns, who struggled to get the ball into the end zone in his seven starts. STANFORD CARDINAL NOV. 25 • STANFORD STADIUM • PALO ALTO, CALIF. RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Bryce Love (783 yards, 3 TD) Passing: QB Ryan Burns (1,151 yards, 5 TD) Receiving: WR Trenton Irwin (442 yards, 1 TD) Tackles: S Justin Reid (57) Sacks: DT Harrison Phillips (6.5) Interceptions: CB Quenton Meeks and LB Joey Alfieri (2) X-FACTOR: Junior Bryce Love rushed for 129 yards in the win at Notre Dame last year and 119 yards in his lone two starts in 2016, but now he must prove he can do that on a week-by-week basis. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORDPHOTO.COM