Stanford at Notre Dame – 2nd Quarter Thoughts
- Stanford’s offensive line is completely controlling the line of scrimmage against the Irish defense. The Cardinal is getting a great push up front and are running all over us to start the second quarter. They aren’t even trying to pass on this drive an right now we have no answer.
- Stanford just capped off a 95 yard drive in which they completely owned the Notre Dame defense. That might have been the worst drive allowed by any Charlie Weis coached team at Notre Dame.
- Brown and Tenuta are going to need to make some serious adjustments because right now nothing has been effective in slowing down the Stanford running game.
- After that long, time consuming drive, the Irish offense has to string together a couple first downs and get some points to give the defense time to recover and adjust.
- Irish answer’s Stanford’s 95 yard drive with a very nice drive of its own. Clausen worked the middle of the field to Rudolph and Grimes very well and Allen ran it in from 3 yards out. With Notre Dame getting the ball to start the second half, a quick stop by the Irish defense would be HUGE.
- Love seeing Notre Dame work the middle of the field. Rudolph could be in store for a huge game unless Stanford takes away the middle of the field in the second half. Just as we have no answer for the Stanford running game rght now, Stanford has no answer for the Irish passing game right now.
- OUTSTANDING reponse by the Irish defense. Notre Dame caps off a Stanford 3 and out with Darius Fleming’s first career sack – just Notre Dame’s second of the season. After Stanford “gashed” the Irish defense on their last drive, this was a great answer.
- With a little over four minutes remaining, the Irish offense has an excellent opportunity here to put some more points on the board before getting the ball back to start the second half.
- Jim Harbaugh is emarassing to watch on the sidelines. It’s one thing to be emotional, but he looks like a raving lunatic at times – like when he argued the fair catch interference penatly.
- … and NBC just announced that Harbaugh and his staff have been given a warning by the officials for being on the field.
- Michael Floyd is really failing to live up the hype…. I think he might be BETTER than advertised 🙂 Seriously though, the Clausen to Floyd touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. Jimmy made the right auible, delivered a PERFECT pass, and then Floyd made a great catch with a defender drapped all over him.
- Irish waste a gold opportunity to go up three scores before half after a great pick by Kyle McCarthy. Brandon Walker was not even close on a 41 yard attempt. Sorry, but a 41 yard field goal should be almost a given at this level. It might be time to give Ryan Burkhart a chance. He can’t be any worse… can he?
- It’s not hard to tell what the strength of this defense is looking at the first half of this game. Stanford ran the ball at will when they wanted to, but they also threw 3 interceptions. We can’t stop the run, but are excellent against the pass.
- Overall it was a pretty good first half for the Irish, but we need to find some sort of answer at kicker in a hurry. Hell, hold an open try out on campus if for nothing else than to light a fire under the scholarship kickers.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
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