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Stanford Cardinal @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Preview

Notre Dame has a knack for playing close games on a weekly basis. This week, the Irish will probably be happy to engage in yet another down-to-the-wire duel.

It's absolutely amazing that one team can so regularly sweat out the fourth quarter, Saturday after Saturday. Last year, Notre Dame lost at Michigan by four in the final minutes, beat Michigan State by three in a white-knuckler, and nudged Purdue by a field goal... and that was just in September. The Irish then beat Washington in overtime; lost to USC on the last play of regulation; edged Boston College by four; lost to Navy by two; fell at Pittsburgh by five; lost to Connecticut in overtime; and dropped a seven-point decision to Stanford. The coaching change from Charlie Weis to Brian Kelly hasn't changed things. Notre Dame lost by four again to Michigan and played a three-point game against Michigan State the week after that.

It's really rather clear: The Irish are good enough to stay in the fight but not gifted enough to land early knockout punches in their own right.

This week, they should be glad if they can take the Stanford Cardinal to the final minutes of regulation.

Yes, it was only Wake Forest, but the Cardinal looked dominant and very well-lubricated as an offensive force late last Saturday night. Stanford made football look incredibly easy in a 68-24 demolition of the Demon Deacons. Quarterback Andrew Luck was razor-sharp for coach Jim Harbaugh, completing just under 75 percent of his passes (17 of 23) for 207 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Luck, not Washington quarterback Jake Locker, is setting the standard for excellence in a West Coast signal caller, and he’s presiding over a Stanford offense that is steamrolling the opposition. One week after a 35-0 win at UCLA, the Cardinal produced 41 points in just the first half of play against Wake Forest. Harbaugh was able to insert two backup quarterbacks in the game, and the Cardinal were still able to score 27 points after halftime en route to a 44-point runaway.

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Last year, Stanford lost at Wake Forest, as Luck encountered a steep learning curve in his freshman season. This year, with some newly-won wisdom in his football mind, Luck is making better decisions and is progressing far more quickly through the reads he needs to make when he surveys a defense. An in-form Andrew Luck is going to thrive, and a thriving Andrew Luck is going to make Stanford an elite contender for the Pac-10 Conference championship, especially since USC is ineligible for the crown in 2010. Luck has more than enough composure to win in South Bend.

The Fighting Irish are 1-2 because they’ve shot themselves in the foot in the red zone and, on a broader level, in the opponent’s final third of the field. Notre Dame has shown an ability to move the ball between the 30s, but when Coach Brian Kelly’s offense gets into scoring range, it often flinches. Last Saturday against Michigan State, a fumble and an interception in the red zone doomed the Irish in a 34-31 overtime loss. This problem has to be fixed in order for the Irish to post better results.

The good news in all this, of course, is that the Irish really aren’t that far from being a really good team. Quarterback Dayne Crist is a gifted athlete; he just has to show better maturity in meaningful moments and display the acumen of former Irish quarterbacks Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen. Receiver Michael Floyd also needs to elevate his game. Floyd is a dynamic receiver, but the star flanker’s fumble at Michigan State proved to be a very costly turnover. If this offense can simply weed out turnovers, it has every chance of playing Stanford on even terms and eventually winning.

We'll see if Notre Dame can hang with Stanford. This might be a day when the close games come to an end... and the Irish pay the price against a loaded Pac-10 foe.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer