Tree Boy
The boys are ready to make amends for last weeks eye sore.
Randy is back, it's the last home game for a great group of
seniors, and to top it off, the game is live nationally; albeit
spilt naitonally. I couldn't think of a better setting in
which to welcome the Molding Do(h!)mers to the farm to get their
whoopin', if for nothing more than to watch Beano "B.C.
Birthday" Cook scratch his 6 chins in disgust. Stanford
45 - Notre Dame 20
Terry
I hope the Irish enjoyed their turkey on Thursday, because
they aren't going to enjoy Saturday's game. This is not the
Stanford you remember -- this year's Cardinal will make life
miserable for Holiday and the option offense. And the Irish
have no hope of stopping Stanford's multi-faceted offense. Stanford
40 - Notre Dame 17
Lars
What better opponent to take our bowl frustrations out on
than the Irish? One can argue that Notre Dame, with its
preferential TV and bowl deals, is one of the main culprits of
why we are staring down on an uninspiring Seattle Bowl berth.
Coach ‘Rone will make them pay! Also, don’t believe
some of the Irish’s lofty defensive stats. They have racked
those stats up against inferior offenses. For instance, ND’s
pass defense ranks 7th nationally but the average
offensive pass ranking of their opponents is 71st best
out of 115 teams. When I think of sophisticated offenses, I
generally don’t think of Navy, West Virginia or Pittsburgh.
Stanford will torch “coach” Davie’s defense. Stanford
44 - Notre Dame 23
YCF
On October 27, Stanford faced the at-leat-at-the-time
highly ranked Bruins of UCLA. Many Bruin fans were
expecting to have the UCLA defense shutdown the Cardinal offense
led by backup quarterback Chris Lewis. Instead, Stanford
torched UCLA for 38 points and 463 yards. This Saturday, Stanford
will once again face a team that so far has been very strong on
defense. Stanford's starting quarterback Randy Fasani will
be returning from injury. The Cardinal will definintely put
up some points. The only question is if Notre Dame can
score as many. The Cardinal have one of the best run
defenses in the country but one of the bottom pass defenses.
However, the pass defense stat can be misleading as many
teams have gotten behind early against Stanford and had to try to
comeback through the air. The Irish will be able to score,
but probably not enough. Stanford 31 - Notre Dame 21
ME-97
The biggest variable in this game may be the weather, with a
forecast for the worst rain seen at gametime in Stanford Stadium
in years. That might negate the aerial assault expected in the
return of Randy Fasani, and keep the overall score down in the
game. Both teams put the emphasis on running the ball this year,
and while Stanford has excelled at shutting down the run, they
have a poor history against 60 minutes of option football. Coy
Wire and Colin Branch are the keys for Stanford in tracking and
punishing Carlyle Holiday and that option. Stanford punting in
the mud and driving rain is a nightmarish vision. But with David
Givens and Tony Fisher out for the Tarnished Domers, I think the
better team will come out on top. Look for special teams and
turnovers as the key indicators in this rainsoaked affair. Stanford
31 - Notre Dame 20
Alan Tieuli (IrishEyes.com)
Bob Davie is on record as saying he would
be in favor of accepting a Music City Bowl invitation if the
Irish win this game and in West Lafayette next weekend.
Wow, now there is incentive. Redemption in Nashville!
Fear not, the Irish will be home for the holidays and the new
head coach will be deep into building his staff and verbal
commitments. By any reasonable analysis, this Irish season
has been a complete meltdown in terms of performance and
judgment. It became comical today to watch A&M and
Nebraska -- the cornerstones of college football excellence if
you listened to Davie all season -- get absolutely pounded
physically and athletically by Texas and Colorado. Once
again, a "murderous" Notre Dame schedule has been
exposed as "challenging" at best. This game is
another example. Stanford is having a fine season, but ND's
talent is equal or better at most positions. But, it's on
the road, at night, and Notre Dame has not won in such a scenario
since 1997 (at Hawaii) and you know Davie and his staff will find
a way to make things more difficult. If you follow such
matters, the Irish are 3-6 against the Las Vegas line this year
and the Cardinal look awfully attractive here at a price such a
little bit north of a touchdown. Only way Irish win this
game is if Stanford gives it away. Stanford 28 - Notre
Dame 13