What Stanford coach David Shaw said about ‘very good’ Notre Dame football
The last two games Stanford has played against Notre Dame haven’t changed head coach David Shaw’s opinion on what he thinks the rivalry game has meant to the Cardinal during his 11-year tenure in Palo Alto.
The Fighting Irish have won the last two matchups between the two programs by 21 points each time — 38-17 in 2018 and 45-24 in 2019. The No. 6 Irish are favored to win this year’s contest by upward of 21 points depending on which sports book you look at.
And yet, Shaw is all in on what his 3-8 Stanford team is up against this week.
“Notre Dame is a rival, and we’ve faired well against them over the last decade plus,” Shaw said. “I don’t need to have any rah-rah speeches this week.”
Shaw owns a winning record (5-4) against Notre Dame since his first season as Stanford’s coach in 2011. The Cardinal won three in a row from 2015-17. It would take a major upset effort for Shaw to retain his winning record against Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly.
Shaw said there is “no question” Notre Dame is the best team Stanford will have faced this season. The Fighting Irish are 10-1 and possibly one dominant win over the Cardinal away from sneaking into the College Football Playoff depending on what happens with other teams in the rankings in the next two weeks.
“They’re appropriately ranked,” Shaw said. “A lot of very skilled athletes out there. They are missing their superstar safety [Kyle Hamilton], probably the best safety in America over the last two years, but they haven’t missed a beat defensively. Very aggressive, very physical.
“On the offensive side, they do a great job schematically. Run the ball, get the quarterbacks on the edge, play-action pass. Then they have some good matchups in their favor they take advantage of. It’s very good football team that knows who they are, and they know how to win games.”
Stanford doesn’t match up particularly well against Notre Dame. The Cardinal has one of the worst rushing defenses in the country with an average of 241.7 yards allowed per game. The Irish have enjoyed a severe uptick in their running game in eclipsing 200 yards in three of the last four games. They have not finished with less than 150 in any of the last six.
Stanford also struggles mightily in running the ball itself. The Cardinal ranks No. 126 nationally in team rushing yards per game at 89.8. Notre Dame has held opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in four games this season.
Still, Shaw said Stanford is playing for pride. He confidently said if anyone wants to take shots at him or his program, they should take them now. He does not feel like Stanford is setting a trend for losing seasons. He feels Stanford will soon return to its winning ways, and what better occasion to get that going again than against one of the best teams in the country in the final week of the 2021 season?
“Hopefully the Golden Domers bring out the best in our football team and for the first time in over a month we see the best of Stanford football,” Shaw said.
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