Notre Dame Football: Stanford is... Cooked

Thanksgiving, a day to express gratitude for all that we have been given, to share our thanks with family and loved ones. If you’re a fan of the Stanford Cardinal, you have almost nothing to be be thankful for this season. Stanford is currently 4-7 and statistically an even grimmer story can be told. Offensively it has been a grim affair.

2019 Stanford Offense
110th in scoring offense
123rd in rushing offense
77th in passer rating
83rd in yards per play

Now a lot of that can be placed on injuries, they’ve had three offensive linemen go down for the season due to injury and K.J. Costello has been in an out of the lineup all year. That doesn’t then excuse their ineptitude defensively however.

2019 Stanford Defense
71st in points per game allowed
77th in rushing yards per attempt
118th in passing yards allowed
103rd in opponents yards per play

You could see the cracks in the Stanford forming for the last few years and the sensor in this bird finally popped to less us know they’re done. David Shaw’s Stanford team is cooked.

On Thanksgiving, with generations gathered under one roof the cardinal rule of no politics/religion/money is oft forgotten. In 2019 we seemingly cannot escape the political hot take theater that has invaded our lives. To be frank no one really cares to hear it and no one’s going to change anyone’s opinion. So instead on this Thanksgiving, I would like to offer an alternative to getting into a heated debate with your Boomer uncle in the red hat or your barista cousin with the tight pants. Let everyone know what about the 2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football season you are thankful for. Did you know Freshman safety Kyle Hamilton has four interceptions despite limited time on the field? I sure am thankful for him.

I’m thankful for Cole Kmet and all six of his touchdowns. If he catches one more he’ll take sole lead as Notre Dame’s most prolific single season touchdown catching tight end. A lofty title for a program with the kind of tight ends who’ve come through.

I’m thankful for Clark Lea and his top 20 scoring defense. In each of the last two seasons the Notre Dame defense has allowed just 18.2 points per game. The last time Notre Dame had back to back seasons of allowing under 20 points per game was 2001(19.5) and 2002(16.7)

I think I am most thankful for Chase Claypool and the acrobatic highlight reel catches he gave us all year. If there was a Jumpman/Jerry West logo pose for One Foot Down, I’m almost certain it would be Chase Claypool.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Sound off in the comments what about this season you’re thankful for and savor this Stanford feast, because after this, it’s dessert.