Notre Dame-Stanford To Have Afternoon Kickoff
For the first time since Notre Dame’s 3-9 finish in 2007, the 9-2 Fighting Irish will play their season finale at 4-7 Stanford in the afternoon this Saturday.
Kickoff has been announced as 1 p.m. PT, which is 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be telecast by FOX.
Since 1998, every Notre Dame football regular season but one ended with a game in California, USC in even-numbered years and Stanford in odd-numbered ones (the exception was 2001 when the 9-11 tragedy led to re-scheduling the game at Purdue in September to December 1).
Customary on these trips is Notre Dame will have a practice at home on Thanksgiving Day, eat a team meal together and then depart later that afternoon for California to help get their body clocks attuned to West Coast time.
“It shouldn't be too much of an issue, because it's really 4 o'clock on our clock and we've been between 2:30 and 3:30 for home games,” said Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly during his Sunday teleconference. “That's what time we practice as well, so that should be right in our wheelhouse.
“They can get up, go play the game and don't have to be sitting around the hotel all day … I know our guys are excited about the news.”
Coincidentally, 2007 also happened to be the last time Notre Dame won at Stanford Stadium, defeating first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal 21-14. Since then the Irish are 0-5 in Palo Alto, all at night, with the last four defeats coming under Kelly.
Maybe not so coincidentally, Stanford was 3-7 prior to hosting the Fighting Irish in 2007, and this year it is 4-7 after falling 24-20 yesterday to arch-rival Cal in The Big Game. It was Stanford’s third consecutive defeat, and fourth in the last five contests.
Since the opening game victory versus Northwestern (17-7), it has been a similar nightmare year for ninth-year Cardinal head coach David Shaw to the 4-8 campaign Kelly and Co., endured in 2016.
Injuries have ravaged the Cardinal, most notably along the offensive line where three true freshmen currently start at left tackle, left guard and right guard. Quarterback K.J. Costello also has been sidelined some this season, and on Nov. 9 All-American cornerback Paulson Adebo was injured as well.
Whereas Notre Dame has been closing November with a flourish with four straight wins — and each of the last three by at least 31 points — Stanford had a bye on Nov. 2 before losing at Colorado (16-13) on Nov. 9, at Washington State (49-22) Nov. 16, and yesterday at home to Cal.
Ranked No. 15 by the Associated Press, Notre Dame is attempting to finish with at least 10 victories in the regular season in back-to-back campaigns for the first time since 1988-89.
The Irish did finish 10-3, 10-1-1 and 11-1 from 1991-93, but that was with bowl victories in the first two because of mostly 11-game regular season schedules back then. Notre Dame didn’t start going to 12-game regular seasons permanently until 2006.
KEVIN AUSTIN PROGRESS REPORT
In case it hasn’t been figured out by now, the sophomore wideout is on an unofficial season-long suspension, but he has remained in school and starred for the scout team.
“Our defensive coaches feel like he's the best player over there, and he's been outstanding in everything that we've asked him to do,” praised Kelly when asked about the progress of the 6-2, 210-pound Florida native, the top prospect among the five sophomore wideouts (along with Braden Lenzy, Lawrence Keys III, Joe Wilkins and Micah Jones) signed in 2018.
“Every challenge that has been put in front of him, and he's had numerous — and I repeat, numerous — placed in front of him. He has succeeded at each one of those challenges. Good things on the horizon for him.”
With Chase Claypool and Chris Finke having exhausted their eligibility after this season, Austin will be counted on to make an impact in 2020.
INJURY & PERSONNEL UPDATES
• Junior defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa suffered a leg injury versus Boston College but Kelly remains positive about the possibility of his availability at Stanford. After the Boston College game, Kelly referred to it as more of a soft-tissue injury, and there was no structural damage.
Tagovailoa-Amosa was still scheduled for an MRI on Sunday afternoon as a precaution, and more news will be forthcoming on Monday.
“We're not expecting anything of great consequence, but we want to make sure,” Kelly said.
• Tagovailoa-Amosa’s backup, sophomore Jayson Ademilola, incurred a sprained ankle the week prior versus Navy and “didn’t look great in warmups” versus Boston College, which is why he did not play
“We worked him out today and our training staff was pleased with what they saw,” Kelly said. “They think he can help on Saturday against Stanford.”
Both freshman Jacob Lacey and sophomore Ja’Mion Franklin received high marks from the defensive staff for their work in the interior, helping limit Boston College’s No. 5-ranked rushing offense that had averaged 282.2 yards per game to 128 yards.
• The news remains murky on senior receiver Javon McKinley, who was injured in the Nov. 9 game at Duke and has been sidelined the past two weeks with a sprained foot.
“A tricky injury,” Kelly said. “He has felt good, but he hasn't been explosive, and at that position you've got to have some explosiveness. We'll have him back out on the field on Tuesday and see what he looks like. If he feels like he can contribute, we'll have him out there. If not, we won't.”
• The offensive line had six false-start infractions versus Boston College, and there were no silent-count miscommunications to blame it on.
"We just need to do a better job of being in a better emotional state and better control and better focus,” Kellyl said. “[Boston College was] moving the front, but everyone moves the front around. Our guys were not on their best.
“If you were to ask them, they would tell you that there is no room for that and they've got to be better.”
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