Notre Dame Offense Must Leave No Doubt Against Stanford

Notre Dame heads into the regular season finale against Stanford with the offense coming off of one of its best performances against Wake Forest last week. On paper, the Irish has a clear advantage against a less than stellar Stanford defense.

Let’s take a look at a couple key matchups to keep an eye on this weekend. If Notre Dame is able to win them, and win them emphatically, this game has a chance to be a blowout.

JOE ALT vs DAVID BAILEY

BREAKING DOWN BOTH SIDES

Stanford has struggled tremendously on the defensive side of the football this year. One of the lone bright spots is Bailey, who is one of the more gifted pass rushers in all of college football. The sophomore has dealt with some nagging injuries, but has been very productive when on the field. Bailey leads the team with five sacks despite missing time.

There is a great argument that Alt is the top left tackle in all of college football. At 6-8 and 322 pounds, there’s a reason why the NFL is so high on the junior pass protector. He has put together tremendous film, fits the size and athletic profiles and has a former NFL father. Alt really checks all the boxes as a next level blindside protector. When fans will look back on it in a few years, Alt belongs in the conversation as one of the best left tackles to ever wear the blue and gold.

WHY IT MATTERS

Quietly Alt has put together a tremendous junior year. His run blocking has taken a huge step and he is still the same outstanding pass protector he always has been. He will have a huge challenge against Bailey, who is an impressive athlete as a standup rusher. Bailey is by far Stanford’s most gifted pass rusher. If they are able to stifle him and not allow him to make any game changing plays, it should be a big day for the Irish offense.

STANFORD LINEBACKERS vs AUDRIC ESTIME

BREAKING DOWN BOTH SIDES

The Stanford linebackers are extremely inconsistent, but have also produced at a pretty high level. There is certainly talent on that second level to work with. Two names will be extremely familiar to Notre Dame fans who follow recruiting, Tristan Sinclair and Tevarua Tafiti. Both players held offers from the Irish and are both talented. The leading tackle for Stanford is actually Gaethan Bernadel, who transferred from FIU this offseason. As a trip, they have recorded 187 total tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss in 11 games.

For the majority of the season, Estime has been the engine behind the Notre Dame offense. He heads into the game with 1,103 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Estime is a physical downhill runner who is a lot to handle for second and third level defenders. He has the talent to wear down opposing defenses, which is why the NFL is so high on him.

WHY IT MATTERS

In last year’s matchup against Stanford, Notre Dame really struggled offensively. They are still a unit that is built through the running game, with Estime being the engine. Look for the team to establish the run and make a push for some balance offensively. If the Stanford run defense is able to slow down the rushing attack, that makes the Irish offense so predictable and stale. That is their only chance to keep this game close.

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