Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Stanford in Week 5

1. Brandon Wimbush sees some action on offense

After three straight weeks of second half offensive irrelevance, Notre Dame fans are likely tired of hearing Wimbush’s name. However, Wimbush does offer a significant rushing threat, a threat that would seem to be wasted sitting on the sidelines. While it certainly worked last week, a matchup against Stanford may not be as kind to Book.

Now, this isn’t to say that Book isn’t hands down the better start right now. Given Wimbush’s ineffectiveness early in the season and Book’s near perfect performance against Wake Forest, it would be nonsensical to roll out Wimbush again. Nevertheless, Kelly has been known for implementing a two-quarterback system from time to time, so there’s a potential for it here.

This wouldn’t be a 50/50 split or anything close to that, but rather something along the lines of throwing Wimbush into the redzone offense for a play or two. Kelly did this a few times with Book when Wimbush was the starter, and Kelly has expressed on multiple occasions that he believes Wimbush is the team’s most effective runner.

Stanford has been significantly more generous through the air than on the ground, so this game caters to Book more than Wimbush. However, the Cardinal defense has been tight in the redzone, so Kelly may opt for a quarterback capable of grinding out that goal line yardage. Regardless of whether or not Wimbush ends up taking the field, don’t expect it to be for an extended period of time.