Irish will rise up at Stanford

Backup running back Greg Bryant made a decision to transfer after being ruled ineligible for the season in August. The Hawks received a game high 28 points on 10-17 from the floor from Justin Robinson followed by a 17 point effort from Je’lon Hornbeak. True freshman Josh Adams has rushed for 592 yards as the top backup.

Starting defensive tackle Jarron Jones tore his MCL in mid-August, ending his season before it could begin. I say “was” because he has announced that he will be returning for his final season. Reserve cornerback Shaun Crawford tore his ACL in August and has missed the season. The pool of realistic candidates for the College Football Playoff has been whittled down since the unveiling of the selection committee’s first set of rankings at the beginning of the month, but there’s still a lot to sort out. Everyone has to deal with attrition, especially at this point in the season.

Notre Dame isn’t bad against the run, it’s actually around the league average, but these are the small deciding factors that can separate two solid teams in a pivotal contest. Notre Dame was backed up at its own 2-yard line when he burst through the line of scrimmage and bounced right.

She finished with 18 points, 10 assists – both career bests – and a school-record 12 steals for the fifth triple-double in Notre Dame history to help the No. 3-ranked Irish to a 110-54 rout of Valparaiso on Monday night. His 33 wins are the most all-time for a Stanford QB and he ranks second in completion percentage (65.7 percent), passing efficiency (151.5) and fourth in TD passes (67) and yards passing (8,749). But, you know, again, the standard of play offensively, it’s such that five turnovers is unacceptable.

Record of all FBS opponents W REC – Record of all FBS opponents that team has defeated Top 25 – Record versus FBS opponents in the CFP top 25 +500 – Wins over FBS opponents with a record above.

The Tigers just happen to be the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings.

That’s awful but that also means on the other 165 running back carries Notre Dame is only giving up 3.2 per rush. The simple answer is the last two weekends the Irish did not look like a playoff team.

Marquette will face the victor of North Carolina State and Arizona State in today’s championship game. “And so (receiver) Will Fuller has to play great”. There’s a reason Stanley will be so highly coveted by the National Football League next spring. McCaffrey leads the nation in all-purpose yards and is second in rushing and is a threat to score every time he touches the ball. It’s a lot harder to replace starters when the offensive line struggles or runs into injury issues. Two weeks earlier, the teams met at O’Hagan Field to play for the annual Archbishops’ Trophy, and the Jugglers put up 14 points in a three-point loss to the Irish.

The home team has won the past four meetings in the series…. Last year, Will Fuller caught 76 passes for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns. DeShone Kizer had a big game as well, totaling 262 yards and five TDs through the air. And he’s returned 26 kicks for 813 yards and one TD. Hogan is completing 67 percent of his passes with 2,231 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while distributing the ball to McCaffrey and a group of athletic receivers. It’s a wholly mediocre defense, one that ranks 44th in rushing S&P+ and 68th in passing S&P+.

Demetrius Jackson and Zach Auguste are Fighting Irish head coach Mike Brey’s top proven commodities, and they’ve played like it for the Irish (3-0) so far.

Notre Dame hasn’t had an easy road this season.