This game is tougher to call than you might think. For one, there's the fact that, while Stanford sucks on the field like Michigan does in life, their defense looked pretty good against UCLA. For another, this is the classic underdog-gets-to-play-at-Notre-Dame setup. These kids will be jazzed from the start, and while Charlie insists that emotions don't play much of a role in a game after 5 minutes, those first 5 minutes can mean a lot. And if ND isn't ready to play from the start, the whole world might start tuning into NBC with 10 minutes left in the 1st quarter to see why the Irish aren't up on the Cardinal by 30 already. Add to that the fact that, as Charlie pointed out in yesterday's presser, many of the personnel who had been injured in Stanford's previous games are ready to come back, and this dog isn't just gonna lay down and take a beating.
This game feels a lot like the Syracuse game from last year, and I recall that game being way more entertaining than it should have been. Sure the score looks ok, but recall how many deep passes Syracuse simply missed? And don't even get me started about the game with Stanford last year.
With all that in mind, here's my Highly Qualified Prediction:
IF ND comes out of the gates flat, AGAIN...
And IF Stanford starts out on an emotional high...
And IF certain ND players show why they're more Ty's guys than Charlie's...
And IF nobody taught our LBs and Secondary how to tackle over the last week...
Tommy Z Demonstrates How Not To Tackle Anyone
And IF our D Line doesn't start to sack SOMEBODY...
And IF our Safeties continue to bite on play-action that a blind ape could read...
And IF a healthier Stanford is the new hotness...
Notre Dame: 45 - Stanford - 38
