Special Print Edition of the Observer for Friday, October 14, 2022 - Stanford Irish Insider

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE KLAERS | PHOTOS BY RYAN VIGILANTE

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INSidER

The observer | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Keys to victory

Keys to Victory: Notre Dame vs. Stanford

By MADELINE LADD Associate Spor ts Editor

After a rewarding victor y in Vegas last weekend, the Irish w ill lace up to take on the Stanford Cardinal this weekend at home in prime time. As this is the first home game of the season, it should make for an exciting atmosphere the team can feed off of, much like A llegiant Stadium last weekend.

The Irish demonstrated an effective offense against BY U, orchestrated by junior quarterback Drew Pyne and junior tight end Michael Mayer.

However, after some second-half struggles and poor red zone execution, there is still room for improvement.

On the defensive side of things, the Irish lost some intensity in the second half. However, they still showed their ability to make a stop when needed.  Heading into the weekend, the Irish have the potential to w in big against the Cardinal.

Nevertheless, there are several keys to ensure this victor y against Stanford at home.

Avoid a Vegas hangover against a beatable Stanford team Though last week’s

Morrison Continued from page 8

he thought as he has become a dynamic force on the field for the Irish.

However, Morrison notes that it is not a one-man job on the field; no matter how much work he puts in, he cannot do it all himself. He has several experienced defenders who are his brothers-in-arms, and he said they have been helping him in his debut season.

“I feel like ever y single star on the back seven has given me really good advice,” he said. “Their biggest thing

victor y was big for Notre Dame, the team is far from being able to rest.

Stanford should be an easily beatable team for the Irish.

That being said, ver y recent histor y has shown this is not always how it plays out. To avoid any resemblance to the devastating Marshall loss that took place earlier this season, the Irish will need to bring the intensity on both sides of the ball.

The three-game win streak shows that they are more than capable of doing so, but it is all about execution.

Shut down the Stanford pass game The Irish defense fell f lat for a bit during the second half of last week’s matchup against BY U. Though they were able to bring the intensity when it mattered most, the defense still let up chunk plays to the Cougars that could have been easily avoided.

This cannot happen this week if the Irish want to secure a win against Stanford. Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee is an NFL draft prospect for next year, so it is important that the Irish defense does not

is ‘have confidence in yourself’ because, ultimately, when you lose confidence in yourself, that’s when you can’t play this game of football. So you have [the] utmost confidence in your game.”

Morrison also mentioned that specifically graduate transfer safety Brandon Joseph — another vital component of Notre Dame’s roster — has given him advice that he has carried with him.

“You gotta believe that you’re the best player no matter what,” Morrison said, quoting his teammate. “If something bad happens, something good happens, you’re the best player.”

Write Sports.

MAGGIE KLAERS |The Observer

underestimate him. The defense must come out the gate strong like they did last week. Additionally, they need to continue to hold their own as the clock dwindles down.

Feed Mayer, get the run game going Michael Mayer helped run the offense last week, as he was responsible for two of the three Irish touchdowns. Drew Pyne also proved he is fit for the role of QB1 through his poise and decisiveness in the pocket. Pyne had some great looks to Mayer and some of the wideouts on the team such as sophomore Jayden Thomas.

If Pyne and Mayer can find the connection that they did last weekend, coupled with other players stepping up, Stanford’s defense will not stand a chance.

Stanford has been underperforming on their run game defense, and the Irish have racked up 521 rushing yards over their past two games.

If they unlock the ground game once more, this has the potential to be a high-scoring game for the Irish.

Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu In the end, it all comes back to work ethic in order to be this “best player.”

For Morrison, preparing and completing the grunt work is instrumental in playing well on game day, and it is this commitment that will hopefully carr y him through the rest of the season.

“You’ve really got to put [in] the time. It will show if you don’t,” he said. “I really gotta look into this in-depth and realize what the other key players are doing within the defense because that will ultimately help me, knowing where my help’s at.”

Contact Emily DeFazio at edefazio@nd.edu

Email Aidan Thomas at athoma28@nd.edu

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Zelo Predictions

ZeLO revisits incorrect picks against Notre Dame, game picks Tom Zwiller Sports Writer

In Notre Dame’s two most recent games against North Carolina and BY U, ZeLO had the Irish as an underdog. Obviously, ZeLO got those two games somewhat w rong, as the Irish won comfortably against both squads and are now on a three-game w in streak.

So, before I go to what is an exciting week of picks, I want to examine why ZeLO is 2-3 in picking Notre Dame games.

The two ZeLO w ins came when Notre Dame played Ohio State and California.

ZeLO’s pick to w in the CFP was Ohio State, so Notre Dame losing was a foreseeable outcome. California was seen as an easy win for the Irish, and luckily they proved ZeLO right.

The first loss came against Marshall (ZeLO had the Irish as a favorite), which, to be fair, most people got w rong. I think most had it as an Irish win, but a narrow one. The loss was shocking.

The North Carolina loss is easy enough to explain away, given the context of the two team’s seasons.

North Carolina was the home team and, at the time, had a great offense and was undefeated. Notre Dame had an offense that was struggling, and so ZeLO took UNC.

BY U was favored by ZeLO back when I first created the model over the summer. ZeLO has loved

BY U because of its high Return+Recruit score, and

Smith Continued from page 7

pounds — w ill be expected to step up and fill the gap left by Lacey. Lacey’s best game of the season had come recently against Cal, where he racked up five tack les, including two sacks. The recent performance made Lacey’s abrupt departure surprising to many.

“Any time that happens, either departure or injur y, you always feel badly for the young person that’s experiencing that,” defensive coordinator A l Golden said after practice this week. “But the other guys have an opportunity

its performance this season was enough to keep them as a favorite over Notre Dame.

As ZeLO favors Notre Dame to beat Stanford, I hope ZeLO improves to 3-3, but for more on that, go check out the Notre Dame game pick below.

Now onto the picks!

Well, not just yet. I almost forgot about ZeLO’s performance review. Last weekend ZeLO and FPI picked 57 games, agreeing on 51 and disagreeing on 6. ZeLO ended up going 3720, and FPI went 39-18, so both models had a lowerperforming weekend than usual.

And while ZeLO had its first loss to FPI in a few weekends, over the last three weeks, ZeLO is up two wins on FPI, so the model still has a good run.

Now, onto the picks.

No. 10 Penn State @ No. 5 Michigan Michigan’s season is a tale of two parts. The first part is that Michigan played Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn; Michigan won on average by nearly 50 points.

During this stretch of the season, the average ZeLO ranking of Michigan’s opponents was 124.

In the second part of the season, Michigan entered conference play, facing (Mar yland, Iowa and Indiana) and its average margin of victor y dropped to just under 14 points.

The average opponent for Michigan during this time jumped to 70, w ith Mar yland ranking 39th.

to step up. Certainly Gabe (Rubio) and Chris did that, and there’ll be others here as the season moves on.”

Smith was named to the 2021 First Team A ll-Iv y League team after posting 40 tack les on the year for the Crimson. The Iv y League does not allow graduate students to play, and Smith had a year of eligibility left because the Ivies canceled all sports for the 2020-21 academic year.

He sought a transfer and was initially planning to enroll at Minnesota. But Smith f lipped his commitment to Notre Dame in April after a visit to South Bend. It has turned out to be a wise decision for

That might not sound alarming, that is still a two-touchdow n advantage, but that feels like a worr ying trend to me.

As the opponents have improved, Michigan has looked less impressive.

Furthermore, Penn State w ill be Michigan’s best opponent, ranking 14th.

Thanks to Michigan’s impressive resume and home-field advantage, the Wolverines are slightly favored (66.6%) to beat the Nittany Lions.

No. 3 Alabama @ No. 6 Tennessee Seldom do you see a top10 team who is at home a 7.5 underdog, but that is precisely what Tennessee is when they take on A labama. I am skeptical of A labama; Texas A&M had a chance to knock off the Crimson Tide on the road, and A&M is nowhere near the caliber of team that Tennessee is.

However, if there is anyone who has earned the benefit of the doubt, it is indeed A labama. ZeLO still has the Tide as its second-best team (behind Ohio State) and the far and away favorite to w in the SEC West. Tennessee is certainly not a touchdow n underdog in the eyes of ZeLO. The Volunteers rank seventh and have an outside chance to w in the East.

This game should be good, w ith the Volunteers covering the spread but the Tide w inning (60.4%).

of the surprises of the year, knocking off Kansas on the road in a closely contested game. The Horned Frogs are just one of three teams in the Big 12 who are undefeated in conference play, and this weekend they have a chance to knock off one of the other undefeated teams.

The two teams are currently favored to make it to the Big 12 conference championship game.

But Kansas and Texas are close behind, so a win for either team would help get each some separation and eliminate a formidable rival.

Currently, TCU is favored in a toss-up game, w ith the Horned Frogs having a 57.3% chance of beating the Cowboys. The difference between the two squads is essentially TCU’s home-field advantage. This should be a good one.

No. 8 Oklahoma State @ No. 13 TCU TCU continues to be one

No. 15 NC State @ No. 18 Syracuse North Carolina State at Syracuse is a game we have all circled on our calendars since the season opener. But all jokes aside, this is a significant game for the ACC Atlantic.

Syracuse and Clemson are the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Atlantic division and the conference.

With a win, Syracuse can keep pace with Clemson, whom they play next week.

It feels crazy to say, but a w in would give the Orange a legitimate shot to win the division.

A loss would be disastrous for the Wolfpack.

both Smith and the Irish.

Through five games for the Irish, Smith has seven total tack les, including three solo stops, but his role is expected to increase in the absence of Lacy and w ith Cross continuing to battle an ank le injur y. Cross is expected to play this weekend, but he may be in a limited role.

Sm it h isn’t t he on ly Ha r va rd g raduate t ra nsfer to play a n i mporta nt role for Not re Da me t h is yea r. He is joi ned by pu nter Jon Sot, h is tea mmate for t h ree seasons i n Ca mbr idge. Sot has been a revelat ion for Not re Da me t h is yea r, averagi ng nea rly 43 net ya rds per pu nt.

Defensive line seeks continued improvement As a unit, Notre Dame’s defensive line has played well this year. The Irish have been stout against the run–except for the loss against Marshall. They have held dual-threat quarterbacks CJ Stroud, Drake Maye and Jaren Hall largely in check. At times, though, they have struggled to get pressure late in games.

“I feel like we’ve been pretty successful so far,” Smith said. “Obviously we’ve still got a lot we can work on, still got a lot we can get better on. We’re not content with where we are.

We think we can definitely kick it up another gear.”

Should North Carolina State lose, they will have ver y little chance of winning the Atlantic (though their chances are already low).

No. 7 USC @ No. 20 Utah After Utah took a loss to UCL A, this game did lose a bit of its luster, but this should still be a thrilling showdown.

Utah is all but eliminated from the CFP; as a two-loss team with a low chance of winning their Conference, they have little to offer. The only thing they can really do is play spoiler to USC’s aspirations of remaining undefeated.

It might be weird, but Utah is still favored to win this matchup. I think it is mainly because of ZeLOs pre-season projections, but we shall see.

Stanford @ Notre Dame As I wrote at the top of the article, Notre Dame is heavily favored to beat Stanford (74.6%).

Stanford is a weak team, with their offense ranking 88th, their defense 118th, and their overall ranking is 115th.

For the 54th-ranked Irish, this should be an easy contest. After Notre Dame beat BY U and UNC in back-to-back weeks, ZeLO has had some of its faith restored in Notre Dame. Not all, but some.

Contact Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu.

The views in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Smith said the execution of the defensive line has improved since the start of the year. “In the beginning, you get a lot thrown at you, and then now, towards… the middle of the season, getting more adjusted to the roles we’ve been playing.”

Notre Dame’s defensive line will be critical to the team’s performance in the second half of the season.

Smith will likely play a key part of the unit moving forward.

“You try to get better each day, I think is our goal,” Smith said. “We’re still not done, and being our best product.”

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu.

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Insider Sports

The observer | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Staff PRedictions

By AIDAN THOMAS, MANNION McGINLEY, NATE MOLLER, MADELINE LADD, EMILY DeFAZIO and LIAM COOLICAN Spor ts Editor, Assista nt Ma nag ing Editor, Senior Spor ts Writer, Associate Spor ts Editors

Aidan Thomas — Sports Editor Three straight for the Irish, and now Notre Dame has a chance to turn this w inning streak into a hurtling ball of momentum w ith arguably their two easiest games of the season upcoming. Barring a shocker, Notre Dame should be 5-2 heading into a two-week stretch of Syracuse and Clemson, games that could push the Irish back towards the top 15, maybe even the top 10.

The Irish are big favorites this weekend, and their offense is rolling, going up against a Stanford defense that’s giving up 207 yards per game on the ground. They’ve also given up 40+ in three of four contests against Power-5 competition.

That should work well for the Irish to be able to do what they want offensively. The Stanford offense is respectable, but it’s not groundbreaking.

Notre Dame’s defense has held opposing offenses to 21 points or less in each game besides UNC, so anticipate that trend to continue.

Notre Dame 38, Stanford 17 Mannion McGinley — Assistant Managing Editor Since the upset from 15-point underdog, Marshall, the Irish are undefeated. 3-2 and on the upsw ing, not a bad place to be. There can be no lull in the Irish play because this game is “easy.”

The Stanford game needs to be the statement w in it is predicted to be. There needs to be the same amount of ferocity, the same intensity from ever y player and

ever y coach headed into this week. The only way the Irish will continue on their positive trajector y is if they can continue to win out on the season and do so convincingly. The Cardinal has only snagged one win this season, and a four-game losing streak is not easy to build momentum from but it can’t fool the Irish.

The Stanford offense has consistently put up 20 points against their opponents. The Irish defense has to be just as productive this week, if not more so, as they were in Vegas.

The defense needs even bigger stops late in the game, just to prove they can do it but also to keep the Stanford offense dow n.

With 12 Stanford turnovers in their ex isting five games, the turnover count has to just keep ticking up.

The Irish need to make it happen.

Notre Dame 35, Stanford 20 Nate Moller — Senior Sports Writer I was as pessimistic as ever about Drew Pyne after his performance against Marshall and Cal, but I am slowly warming up to him. In Saturday’s season defining win against BY U, Drew Pyne showed why he is QB1.

At times on Saturday, the play of Drew Pyne reminded me of former Irish quarterback Ian Book because of his accurate passing, ability to use his legs when needed and ability to generate offense when the play breaks down. If Pyne can continue to rely on Michael Mayer and the offensive line can continue to give Pyne time in the pocket, the Irish offense should roll against a Stanford team that has struggled defensively all year.

The running game has been much improved for

the Irish as well, which should be enough to give them a fairly comfortable w in on Saturday night.

Notre Dame 41, Stanford 20 Madeline Ladd — Associate Sports Editor With a three-game w in streak and a big victor y out in Vegas, the Irish w ill be looking to continue the momentum this weekend.

The Notre Dame offense jived well against BY U, w ith Pyne coming into his ow n in the pocket and stars like Michael Mayer racking up the points for the Irish.

Other players stepped up last weekend as well, and if they do it again the

offense should be able to get in the same groove this weekend — especially against the struggling Stanford defense.

As for Irish defense, they w ill need to continue to improve and limit defense breakdow ns against Stanford QB and NFL draft prospect Tanner McKee. Notre Dame 42, Stanford 17 Emily DeFazio — Associate Sports Editor With three wins under their belt and a fairly mild opponent in Stanford, I have high hopes for the Irish in their return to South Bend this weekend.

Notre Dame in Vegas is the Paid Advertisement

kind of play we need to see ever y game moving forward. Drew Pyne is really settling into his role as QB1, and I think this confidence can only yield big things for the Irish in the coming weeks.

The offense is finally able to do some dynamic play calling, thanks in no small part to the O-line, and with strength on both facets of the offensive game play, I see players like Michael Mayer and Audric Estime continuing their upward trajectories on Saturday.

The key in the next two games will be not resting on laurels and keeping the see PICKS PAGE 6

Sports Insider

History Continued from page 7

they snagged their lowestscoring w in of the series to tie the decade of matchups at 5, w inning 17-13 in 2001.

2008: Irish don’t take trash talk lightly W hile the Stanford rivalr y may not be the most aggressive matchup the Irish have taken on, it has had its bitter moments.

In 2008, Stanford tack le Chris Marinelli showed up to South Bend sw inging.

“The field sucks. The stadium sucks. I think the area sucks. We are going out there to mash them up and that’s all there is to it,” he said of Notre Dame and its stadium. He continued to trash the Irish defense, its lack of sacks and, according to thenObser ver sports editor Dan Murphy, just about “ever y thing Notre Dame stands for short of Jesus Christ Himself.”

Notre Dame players took that to heart. No one commented before the game but the Irish turned to the Pep Rally. Pat Kuntz ripped off a breakaway suit and promised to “rip somebody’s head off on Saturday.”

Cut to the game.

The Notre Dame defense spent most of the game dominant. They had been able to snag five sacks and Kyle McCarthy led the team w ith 14 tack les on the night. Through three, the Irish led 28-7.

At the start of the fourth though, the Irish started to slip. Stanford staged two touchdow n runs in the fourth quarter to come w ithin one touchdown of the Irish, much like this past weekend in Vegas.

The Irish defense, in the middle of a less-thanstellar year, pulled out a stop though. Pinned at their ow n three, Stanford completed a pass near the end of the fourth but Anthony Kimble fumbled and it was Kuntz who came up with it. With 0 :07 left, the Irish stopped the comeback to w in the game by a touchdow n.

“We’re not going to let anybody come into our house and talk like that to us,” Irish linebacker Harrison Smith said.

2012: Goal line stand to remain undefeated No. 17 Stanford came into Notre Dame Stadium 4-1. Stanford, true to form, relied heavily on their offense that season. Ever y game they won was won w ith more than 20 points except for their matchup w ith Oregon that went to

ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 | The Observer

overtime.

In the week six matchup, Notre Dame was undefeated and about to face the Stanford squad that, in the three previous matchups, had pushed them around.

For the seniors, this was a team they hadn’t beaten.

Defensive end Stephon Tuitt dominated the Stanford backfield while Manti Te’o crushed Stanford ball carriers all day.

The defensive work was there on the Cardinal side too, leaving Irish quarterback Everett Golson little to no space to operate.

Stanford’s only touchdow n on the day came from a Golson fumble, recovered in the end zone, a testament to the Irish defense.

The first half closed w ith the Irish behind a touchdown, 10-3. The third quarter saw no scoring and this was Notre Dame’s only stretch so far that season they hadn’t been leading. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Golson found tight end Tyler Eifert for a touchdow n, bringing the score to 10-10.

The Cardinal answer was nothing short of effective. Taking 8:03 off the clock, they marched to the Notre Dame three for a field goal, 13-10 Cardinal.

With the ball back, the Irish needed a touchdow n to win or a field goal to tie.

Golson went dow n w ith concussion-like symptoms the second they got the ball back which left backup quarterback (now Notre Dame offensive coordinator) Tommy Rees to win the Irish the game.

Rees brought the Irish into field goal range to tie the game up and then hit T.J Jones for a seven-yard touchdown catch in the first overtime possession.

It all came dow n to the defense.

Stanford tailback Stefan Taylor reached the Notre Dame 4-yard line after a 13-yard rush. That wasn’t enough though. In the next four dow ns, he was denied all four times.

Manti Te’o and the Irish prevented a fourth and one breakthrough and the Irish remained undefeated for the season, defeating Stanford 20-13.

The win has since been vacated as the Irish were found guilty of allow ing academically ineligible athletes to play but the defensive stop the Irish made remains legend among Notre Dame fans.

Notre Dame fans travel well through the ages W hile the series is split fairly evenly and coaches and players have come and gone, Irish fans, as always, have remained loyal followers of ND

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The Observer Archives

Former Irish linebacker Manti Te’o leads the Irish defense to maintain their undefeated season, stumping Stanford at the one in an overtime win 20-13 on Oct. 13, 2012. The Cardinal started the downs at the four.

The Observer Archives

Former Irish linebacker Manti Te’o takes down the ballcarrier in Notre Dame’s 20-13 win over Stanford on Oct. 13, 2012. Only the Stanford defense scored a touchdown, as the Irish had the offense locked up.

football.

Thirty years ago, Obser ver Sports Editor Theresa Kelly traveled to the 1989 game in Palo A lto. There, she watched the Irish take dow n the Cardinal surrounded by cheering Notre Dame fans.

Current Sports Editor Aidan Thomas covered last year’s game in Palo A lto and in his Obser ver on the Ground piece, he also noticed the presence Notre Dame had 2,000 miles from home, saying “Stanford was a Notre Dame home game but w ith warmer weather.”

Both saw the national brand really spread coast to coast and regardless of what year it is or how well the Irish are playing, there has always been an Irish fan base to watch the Stanford-Notre Dame rivalr y put another faceoff in the books.

The Observer Archives

Contact Mannion McGinley at mmcginl3@nd.edu

Former Observer Sports Editor Theresa Kelly discussed the wellrepresented Notre Dame crowd in Palo Alto for the 1989 matchup.

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The observer | friday, OCTOBER 14, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Picks

meanwhile, is in the midst of a four game slide and Continued from page 4 has yet to defeat an FBS opponent. The Irish crowd, momentum going ahead after two rough home of major opponents down games to start the year, the line (I’m looking at will be out in full force for you, Clemson); the team a night game after two imcannot afford a Marshall pressive wins away from repeat. Give me a blowout Notre Dame Stadium. The in an electric night game Cardinal will struggle to setting and this weekend get any thing going from will hopefully rocket the the opening snap, and Irish to success for the re- Notre Dame will get a mainder of the season. statement, and lopsided, Notre Dame 42, Stanford 13 win.

Notre Dame 45, Stanford 10.

Liam Coolican — ­ Associate Sports Editor Two teams headed in op- Contact Aidan Thomas, posite directions will meet Mannion McGinley, Nate in South Bend Saturday Moller, Madeline Ladd, night. Notre Dame has as Liam Coolican and Emily much momentum as any DeFazio at team in college football athoma28@nd.edu, right now. Their offense mmcginl3@nd.edu, has come into its own and nmoller@nd.edu, the defense has continued mladd2@nd.edu, to stand out against qual- lcoolica@nd.edu and ity opponents. Stanford, edefazio@nd.edu.

Column

Where Ben Morrison ranks among recent Irish recruiting steals Aidan Thomas Sports Editor

Within just weeks, three-star cornerback recruit Benjamin Morrison claimed a starting job w ithin the vaunted Notre Dame defense. Morrison came to South Bend as the second-highest cornerback recruit in the class, w ith many figuring four-star Jaden Mickey to challenge for early playing time. Mickey has played some ver y important snaps for the Irish, but it is the previously little-know n Morrison that has car ved out a regular role.

W here does Morrison rank amidst recent Irish recruiting steals?

The Irish have molded several lower-rated recruits into dominant starters, but did any get off to as fast a start as the Phoenix, Arizona, native?

Where does Morrison fall Morrison came to Notre Dame ranked as the 311thbest recruit per 247 and the 35th-best cornerback. He received a .9000 grade on the dot from 247. Morrison wasn’t an early enrollee, so the headlines centered around Mickey and his brash confidence at the spring game. But after a strong camp and preseason, Morrison forced his way into the cornerback rotation. He played 29 snaps in

the opener at Ohio State.

He usurped the starting role a few short weeks after.

A three-star recruit that was seemingly a depth addition to a strong class, Morrison looks like one of the best recruiting steals for the Irish in recent memor y.

To compare him to recent and similar recruiting steals, I looked at the litany of Irish three-star recruits that became bigtime contributors for the blue and gold. In order to create this list, a combination of how quick ly they became a starter and their overall impact on the team over their career was considered.

Recent Recruiting Steals 7. Logan Diggs Diggs filled a big hole late in the 2021 recruiting cycle for Notre Dame. The Irish went hard after eventual Clemson commit Will Shipley, and they needed to pivot late.

They grabbed Diggs, ranked as the 504th-best player and 35th-best running back. W hile Diggs never was RB1 as a freshman, Diggs appeared in eight games, filling some critical roles especially when eventual fifth-round draft pick Kyren Williams was drafted.

6. Jarrett Patterson Patterson wasn’t exactly a highly underrated

recruit, but he did enter Notre Dame ranked as the 25th-best offensive tack le in the countr y and the 369th-best player.

However, Patterson has established himself as a linchpin of the Irish offensive line in recent years.

As a sophomore, he started all 13 games of the 2019 season at center.

He’s moved around between tack le and center over his career, but outside of missing the end of the 2020 season due to injur y, Patterson has been a fulltime starter since cracking the lineup.

5. Clarence Lewis In a bit of irony, Lew is, who just largely lost his job to Morrison, comes in at No. 5. Given recent events and Lew is’s struggles, it’s easy to forget he came in as a freshman and took over a starting role on a College Football Playoff-bound team. Lew is played in nine games as a freshman, taking over as a starter in November. He entered as the 727th-ranked prospect and 58th-ranked cornerback. He stays lower on the list given he has since been surpassed on the depth chart.

4. Benjamin Morrison For now, Morrison slots in at No. 4. He’s got a lot to prove, but after becoming a starter by Week 3 of his true freshman year, and given the fact that he wasn’t an early enrollee,

his rapid ascent merits a rise up this list.

3. Kyren Williams One of the best skill position players out of Notre Dame in the past few years, Kyren Williams didn’t come to South Bend with other worldly amounts of hy pe. His .8918 recruit grade was modest, and he clocked it at No. 367 on the 247 recruit rankings. Even within the running backs, he was only ranked No. 24 on the list.

Of course, Williams became a starter as a sophomore and pushed the Irish to a playoff berth in 2020.

His 140-yard, three-touchdow n effort against No. 1 Clemson, including a 65yard touchdown run on his first rush of the game, remains a legendar y performance. He finished his career w ith back-to-back 1000-yard seasons before departing for the NFL. 2. Joe Alt A lt was almost forced into a starting role with underperformance and injur y issues along the Irish offensive line. But after entering at left tackle against Cincinnati, A lt took over the starting job against Virginia Tech. He stabilized Notre Dame’s most questionable position and emerged as the clear starting left tack le for at least the next three years. A lt has almost seamlessly transitioned

into this season as a starter, performing as the Irish’s best offensive lineman for most of the season. It’s easy to forget he entered with a .8862 prospect grade, rated as the 408th-best recruit in the countr y.

1. Kurt Hinish Kurt Hinish has been exceeding expectations long before he surprisingly made the Houston Texans roster this past preseason.

Before that, Hinish entered as the 520th-ranked recruit and 43rd-ranked defensive tack le in the 2017 class. He immediately became a contributor as a freshman, appearing in 12 games in his first year. He had his coming out party in the USC rivalr y clash, totaling a then-careerhigh three tack les against the Trojans.

Ultimately, his collegiate career-high would amount to 10 in the 2022 matchup against Nav y.

Hinish played in 63 games over five years for the Irish, totaling 28 tack les and 2 sacks. The nose guard jumped from littleknown three-star recruit to starting lineup staple for half a decade, earning the No. 1 spot on this list.

Contact Aidan Thomas at athoma28 @nd.edu.

The views in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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History of the Matchup

History of the matchup through the eyes of The Observer: Notre Dame vs. Stanford

By MANNION McGINLEY Assistant Managing Editor

The Notre DameStanford rivalr y is a longstanding matchup, dating back to the close of Knute Rockne’s seventh season as head coach, the first Notre Dame national championship. Since then, Notre Dame leads the series 21-13.

The teams have gone head to head ever y year since 1988, sans the 2020 Covid-affected season, and The Obser ver has been there to catch it all.

Before the Irish take the field against the Cardinal once again, these are the moments that have made the rivalr y what it is today.

1925: The Rose Bowl In the 1924 season, the Irish went 10-0 under Rockne in the regular season. They took that perfect record all the way to the Rose Bowl on the backs of the “Four Horsemen.”

This moniker followed the legendar y backfield that included fullback Elmer Layden and halfbacks Don Miller and Jim Crowley, led by quarterback Harr y Stuhldreher.

With the Horsemen, the Irish played in a modified single w ing known as the Notre Dame Box. Once they made it to the Rose Bowl, the Irish found the Cardinal waiting for them in Pasadena.

The Cardinal went 7-1-1 on the season, 3-0-1 in the Pacific Coast Conference, under head coach Pop Warner. They spent the season undefeated, and this was the second time Stanford made it to the postseason.

In front of 60,000 fans, on Jan. 1, 1925, The Irish won 27-10 over the Cardinal.

W hile there were no polls to determine a national champion at the time, this would go dow n as Notre Dame’s first national championship due to later analyses creating a consensus around the team.

Notre Dame would take the field three more times

against Stanford in the next 60 years, losing only one of those matchups.

1988 : The annual showdowns begin In 1988, the Irish were ranked No. 5 heading into the matchup. The Cardinal came to South Bend on Oct. 1 that season, which was Notre Dame’s fourth game of the year. The Irish started the season ranked No. 13. After beating No. 9 Michigan, they jumped to No. 8.

Two more w ins over Michigan State and Purdue brought them to No. 5 before they would beat Stanford 42-14, w in out on the season, rise to No. 1 and then take the national championship. That year’s performance also included a 31-30 w in over (then) No. 1 Miami.

1989: The Legends Trophy is born With the second annual rivalr y game came a new annual tradition.

W hichever team won the matchup would take home the Legends Trophy. The trophy itself is “awarded by the Notre Dame Club of the San Francisco Bay Area” to the w inner of the Notre Dame-Stanford contest each year. It combines Irish cr ystal in the cup and a California redwood base.

“It’s a beautiful trophy.

They took good care of it last year, and we’ll take good care of it this year,” Lou Holtz said in 1991 after a 42-26 win over Stanford.

1990 upset starts an evensplit decade In 1990, the Irish were primed to return to the National Championship.

Ranked No. 1, just two years after their ’88 crow ning, they wanted another.

That is until an unranked Stanford stepped into Notre Dame Stadium. The final score was 36-31 in favor of the Cardinal. Holtz said he “couldn’t recall ever being in a loss which was as difficult as the defeat at the hands of the

The Observer Archives

The 1988 Observer sports staff wrote about Notre Dame and Stanford’s first match up in the 1925 Rose Bowl where Notre Dame was crowned the National Champion behind the Four Horsemen on Jan. 1.

Cardinal” — at least not in Notre Dame Stadium.

The Irish hadn’t given up 36 points since they defeated USC five years earlier in Holtz’s first season.

They hadn’t given up 36 points at home or in a loss since a 36-32 fall to South Carolina before Holtz even became head coach.

Several Irish fumbles became Cardinal touchdow ns and the defense couldn’t keep up.

The 1990 loss turned the series into a yo-yo. In the 10 games until 2001, the Irish went 5-5 w ith the Cardinal. In 1992, the Irish fell to Stanford again, which became their only loss of the season. Again, Stanford broke into the 30s, w inning 3316. A No. 4 and No. 8 Irish squad would w in the ’93, ’94 matchups, respectively (48-20, 34-15). However, after a two-year hiatus, the Irish let Stanford break 30 points once more and snag another w in in 1997.

Notre Dame would f lip the script in 1998 w ith an almost identically scored w in, 35-17.

At the turn of the centur y, the two teams each won a game in their traditional fashion. The ’99

The Observer Archives

The Observer headline after Notre Dame defeated Stanford in 1991. The Irish had lost the year before but finally reclaimed the famed Legends Trophy a year later, beating the Cardinal 42-26 in South Bend.

Stanford team won behind a strong offense that a mistake-filled Irish defense couldn’t stop and the Irish offense could barely keep up with. The Irish defense allowed scoring passes of 62 and 38 yards to Stanford receiver Troy Walters. And Stanford’s Aaron Focht took an Irish fumble 37 yards to the house. Despite the sloppy play, Notre Dame tied the game at 37 with 1:32 remaining in regulation.

A roughing-the-passer penalty on the Irish though, set up Stanford

kicker Mike Biselli’s gamewinning 22-yard field goal as time expired. The loss had mirrored a particularly frustrating season for the Irish. After the game, Irish head coach Bob Davie told the Obser ver “I don’t ever want to be 5-7 again.”

To start the new millennium, the Irish were back to themselves, winning a low-scoring defensive matchup, 20-14. The aughts shone a Stanford f lash in the pan though as see HISTORY PAGE 5

The Observer Archives

1989 Stanford quarterback Brian Johnson prepares to throw the ball in an Observer photo from before the 1989 matchup.

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The observer | FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Benjamin MORRISON

Commitment, work ethic bring freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison to prominence

By EMILY DeFAZIO Associate Sports Editor

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison celebrates a kick that graduate transfer Blake Grupe made during Notre Dame’s 28-20 win over BYU.

Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison has already begun to make a name for himself in the Notre Dame football program. The newcomer has played in all five games this season, boasting seven tack les to his name already, and has secured a spot at the top of the Irish depth chart.

Morrison joins the ranks of senior Cam Hart and graduate student TaRiq Bracy in the position group. W hile he was not present for spring ball, he was an immediate standout during fall camp. This came from both his natural affinity for the game, as well as his commitment to learning and improving.

“Ben Morrison is a guy that understands college football, the technical side of it,” head coach Marcus Freeman said.

“He’s blessed with God-given

ability, but mentally he understands what it takes to have success at this level.”

For Morrison, a large part of understanding the game comes w ith slowing it down. The fastpaced nature of college football is something the cornerback had to get used to upon getting to campus, and he said that the key to being successful in that kind of an environment is putting in the work.

A lot of this work for Morrison translates into the film room, which he frequents often. Watching the film, he said, is how a player can develop into a playmaker on the field.

“It really is mental. You hear about these freak athletes but you don’t hear how much time they put in to study for the game,” Morrison said.

“The reason why they’re able to make those plays is because how much they

study… you gotta be in the film room to make plays.”

Work undoubtedly occurs on the field as well, both in practice and in a game setting. Morrison mentioned knowing when to look back has been a key factor in his game, and this helps him to see the bigger picture in front of him.

“Being able to see not just what you’re looking at but ultimately what’s going on around you… that’s when the game kind of slows down,” he said.

For a freshman, Morrison has gained a lot of experience in Irish uniform. He said that because he is young, he has a lot of room to improve, but that he is excited for that process. He said the moment where things start to click will reaffirm that he is doing something right; this moment may come sooner than see MORRISON PAGE 2

CHRIS SMITH

Harvard transfer Chris Smith prepares for bigger role

By LIAM COOLICAN Associate Spor ts Editor

A year ago, Notre Dame’s defensive line was one of the deepest units on the team. But after star defensive linemen Kurt Hinish and Myron TagovailoaAmosa graduated and junior Aidan Keanaaina suffered an ACL injur y in the spring, it became clear the Irish needed reinforcements.

W hen Notre Dame brought in Chris Smith, a graduate transfer from Har vard, he wasn’t expected to compete for a starting job. That was before Jacob Lacey unexpectedly announced he would be entering the transfer portal.

Now, Smith must step up and take on a bigger role than he may have been expecting.

“The guys here have been great in helping me

adjust,” Smith said after practice on Tuesday. “It’s felt like family since I’ve gotten here.”

Against BY U last week, with senior Howard Cross III also absent due to a high ank le sprain, Smith saw a season-high 28 snaps. That was the second most among Irish defensive linemen, according to Blue and Gold Illustrated.

Smith also saw 28 snaps in the season opener against Ohio State but his usage rate declined significantly since then.

“I know ever y guy wants to play ever y single snap, but that obviously can’t happen, so just doing what we can,” Smith said.

Smith steps up in larger role A longside sophomore Gabriel Rubio, Smith — who is listed at 6’1 and 310 see SMITH PAGE 3

RYAN VIGILANTE | The Observer

Irish graduate transfer Chris Smith and the rest of the defensive line tries to block a BYU field goal attempt on Saturday. The 28-20 win over the Cougars moved the Irish to 11-0 in the Shamrock Series.