Coordinators, Players Take Responsibility for Stanford Loss

Frustration among Fighting Irish fans hit a boiling point after a 16-14 loss to Stanford. 

How could Notre Dame manage a meager two-touchdown performance against one of the worst defenses in college football?

The program is still looking for answers, particularly at home. Inside Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish have yet to score a first-quarter touchdown and averaged 4.7 points per first half. 

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is taking the team’s poor offensive performances at home to heart.

"I try to internalize it,” Rees said. “How can I do better? How can I help? What could I have done? You're up all night going through calls that didn't hit. I could have done this. I could have done that. I should have done this.”

He says it starts with his first-half playcalling. Against Stanford, the Irish produced just 106 yards of total offense and were shut out. For whatever reason, the offense just didn’t look comfortable out of the gate. 

While the players need to execute better, if it were up to Rees, he’d take sole responsibility for the loss.

“If all the blame is going to go towards me, that's a good thing,” Rees said. “Because it means it's not falling on our guys. We'd rather have it that way and continue to push forward and allow them to have success Saturday this week."

Instead, the players haven’t shied away from accountability either. 

Quarterback Drew Pyne completed 13 of 27 passes (48 percent) for 151 yards and a touchdown against Stanford. He also lost a fumble in the second quarter and missed a handful of open receivers in the end zone. 

Immediately after the game, he expressed how difficult it was to lose enlight of his poor performance.

“Losing and being in the locker room with all my best friends, knowing that I could have executed better to help us win, it’s something that really hits you hard,” Pyne said.

But the disappointment in their play extends beyond the current roster.

Each and every current player understands Notre Dame’s rich college football history and is connected to former Irish greats. 

“Nobody's okay with failure. Nobody likes to fail,” running back Logan Diggs said. “Nobody likes to lose, more importantly, especially not here at Notre Dame. This culture and this program are built on winning, so when you feel like you're letting down this team and everyone who came before you, it's super personal.

“Everybody on this team is ready to get after it, ready to go.”

The Irish have fared better on defense at home, where they’ve given up just 17.3 points per game.

But given the talent on that side of the ball, the coaching staff still expects better. 

"We've got to take another step,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said.

As of late, the Irish have given up too many explosive plays, particularly in the pass game. Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee completed 26 of 38 passes (68 percent) for 288 yards against Notre Dame, both of which are season-highs against an FBS opponent. 

He primarily connected on short throws via screens and even hit Cardinal running back Casey Filkins on a few shovel passes. Due to poor tackling, those still often went for big plays, with 132 of McKee’s passing yards coming on six throws.

Stanford’s success in the quick game enabled one of the worst offensive lines in the country to protect McKee. Coming into the game, the Cardinal ranked No. 128 in sacks allowed per game, yet the vaunted Irish defense only sacked McKee once.

Additionally, Notre Dame came close to forcing a couple of turnovers against Stanford, but they ultimately failed to do so. The Irish have yet to force a turnover at home, carrying a -6 turnover margin inside Notre Dame Stadium.

“We've got to deflect some balls, bat some balls, get some interceptions, and we've got to help our team out,” Golden said. “It's not good enough to just stop them. We've got to create some field position, help special teams, help the offense or make an explosive play ourselves. We’ve got to add that element to our defense." 

Going forward, all the Irish can do is learn from their mistakes and prepare for UNLV on Saturday.

“We try to put one foot in front of the other and get ready to play another game this week,” Rees said. “There's no point in hanging our heads and feeling sorry because the guys outside of the building sure as shit aren't. So, we're just going to keep charging ahead and get ready to play Saturday afternoon.”

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