Notre Dame found a way to beat Stanford 17-14, despite all the rain, all the cold, and all the doubt. The Fighting Irish lived up to its name, by battling through every mistake and every bit of precipitation and cold that Mother Nature threw at them.
It was a sloppy game just as much as it was a physical game. Everett Golson still had a few turnovers and field goal holder Hunter Smith became a household name (that’s not good) after TWO botched holds that saw potential field goals disappear. One of those turnovers gave Stanford a short TD drive and a confidence booster early in the game.
The Irish defense went unfazed. They harassed and disrupted everything that Kevin Hogan and the Stanford offense was trying to do. Jaylon Smith led the way with 14 tackles and a sack, and Cole Luke had 2 interceptions and a sack. Stanford never looked like they had much of anything going on and Brian VanGorder owned the play calls.
Still, it came down to a last minute drive with the Irish down 14-10. Golson helped keep the drive alive with smart passes and then finally, he saw Ben Koyack sitting in the endzone.
Stanford still had a shot, but with just 11 seconds left on the clock, Brian VanGorder dialed up a blitz that came fast and dirty, and Kevin Hogan just threw it away. The flags came flying for intentional grounding, and the clock got its automatic 10 second rundown.
GAME OVER
No tubas needed and the band played the Victory March despite David Shaw’s best efforts to quiet them. It was a great win on a week that saw Top 10 teams drop like flies. The Irish survive and continue to play for a playoff spot.
