Note: A version of this story will appear in the Blue & Gold Illustrated 2020 Football Preview magazine in June. This is the sixth installment of the 2020 Notre Dame opponent previews. Prior ones are listed at the bottom of this story.
Stanford quick facts
Date, location: Oct. 10, Notre Dame Stadium
All-time series: Notre Dame leads 21-13
Last meeting: Notre Dame won 45-24 on Nov. 30, 2019
Head coach: David Shaw, 86-34 at Stanford and overall (10th season)
2019 results: 4-8, 2-6 Pac-12
Returning starters: 17 (9 offense, 8 defense)
Instead of spending December doing bowl prep, David Shaw sat out the postseason for the first time in his Stanford head coaching tenure and watched 16 of his players march like an army into the alternate dimension known as the transfer portal.
It was a first. It drew attention – not the good kind. On the surface, it gave off a sign of unrest and turmoil. Those who only read the headlines were surely struck with terror over the big, bad monster that is the word transfer.
The further the exodus is unpacked, though, the more understandable and less panic-inducing it actually is. Three portal explorers, leading tackler Andrew Pryts, backup tight end Scooter Harrington and backup defensive linemen Thomas Schaffer, returned to the team, though Pryts later decided to retire. Everyone who left was a graduate transfer. Shaw encourages players eligible for a fifth year to explore options in case they are not admitted into a Stanford grad program.
