Notre Dame football took on Stanford on Saturday night and came away with a tough loss. What did we learn from the Week 13 rivalry game.
It’s been an impressive turnaround season for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish went from 4-8 last season, missing out on a bowl, to 9-3 in the 2017 regular season with a chance for a 10th win in the Irish’s bowl game.
However, they had a chance to get a 10th win in the regular season, but a road game against Stanford in the season finale ended those hopes. Moreover, a playoff berth was still possible. Those hopes were crushed as well seeing as Stanford scored 21 straight points to start the fourth quarter to come away with a big win, clinching the Pac-12 North.
What did we learn from Notre Dame’s loss to Stanford in Week 13?
3. Josh Adams could be back for 2018
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Josh Adams and the Fighting Irish offensive line. Notre Dame’s junior running back got off to a great start to the 2017 season and averaged nearly 10 yards per carry through the first half of the season.
Adams rushed for over 100 yards in six of the season’s first eight games and since then he’s put up just 215 yards combined in four games. The Irish offensive line has struggled to open up the running lanes despite having a couple of first round NFL draft prospects up front.
There’s a good chance he could come back for his senior season, especially if he’s unable to show off in Notre Dame’s bowl game, which could be a New Year’s Six matchup.
Notre Dame has a lethal running game with Brandon Wimbush and Adams, but they haven’t been playing up to par for the past few weeks.
2. Brandon Wimbush still can’t be trusted with his arm
Everyone knows that Brandon Wimbush is effective with his legs more than his arm and that point was proven on Saturday night against Stanford. The Cardinal did give up some big plays to Wimbush and the aerial attack.
The junior quarterback has been solid in his first year as the starter for the Irish, but he struggled with his arm and if he’s going to lead Notre Dame to the playoff next season, he must improve his accuracy and arm strength.
Notre Dame needs a quarterback who can do more than throw slant routes, sometimes inaccurately, and screen passes. The Fighting Irish just don’t have the most effective offense possible with Wimbush under center. There are far too many elite targets on the roster not getting used to their fullest capability.
The Irish must figure out a way to improve his confidence which should, in turn, fix some problems with his arm accuracy. Right now, he just can’t be trusted.
1. Growing pains are evident
It’s been a great comeback season for the Fighting Irish, going 9-3 with wins over teams like NC State, Michigan State and USC, among others, and they have some quality losses as well to ranked teams such as Georgia, Miami and now Stanford.
However, there has been one major knock against this team: when it rans, it pours. When the Fighting Irish struggle, it usually is to the extreme. Notre Dame fell behind early against Miami and was unable to bounce back. I’m not saying this team isn’t resilient, but the Irish weren’t able to stop the bleeding effectively.
It’s clear that this team is young and learning on the fly. Brian Kelly has a strong young team with plenty of potential and the future in South Bend is incredibly bright. However, his team struggled in tough games, such as at Miami and Stanford, to end the year.
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The team made silly mistakes and seemed to fall apart at the seams when things got out of hand. Prime example was Saturday against Stanford, allowing 21 points in the matter of four minutes after holding a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter. This team will grow, but the pains are evident.