Speed gives Stanford football new options

Christian McCaffrey’s Heisman push and the team’s playoff hopes are fueled by breakaway power.|

JOSH DUBOW

ASSOCIATED PRESS

November 26, 2015

GAME AT A GLANCE

No. 6 Notre Dame (10-1) at No. 9 Stanford (9-2)

Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Fox.

Favorite: Stanford by 4 (56 total),

Series record: Notre Dame leads 19-10.

What's at stake? This is an elimination game for the College Football Playoff with the loser having no chance of qualifying. The Fighting Irish are in better shape with a win because they have lost just once, to No. 1 Clemson. The Cardinal will likely need lots of help from the other conferences to get in with two losses.

Key matchup: Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith vs. Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey. This game features perhaps the game's top linebacker against the most versatile offensive threat. 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. Smith might spend lots of time shadowing McCaffrey and might be athletic and powerful enough to do it.

Players to watch

Notre Dame: WR Will Fuller. Fuller has been one of the most productive receivers ever at Notre Dame. He is the fourth Irish player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and ranks second all-time with 28 TD catches. Fuller is tied for seventh in the nation with 12 TD catches this season.

Stanford: QB Kevin Hogan. Hogan will play the final home game of his stellar career. 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).

Notes

The home team has won the past four meetings in the series.

The Cardinal are seeking to beat the Irish four consecutive times away from Notre Dame Stadium.

Stanford has scored at least 30 points in 10 consecutive games. The Irish have allowed that much just twice this season.

Notre Dame had five turnovers last week against Boston College, the same amount as in the previous five games combined.

The Irish have 11 TDs this year of at least 50 yards.

Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer needs one TD run to tie Tony Rice and Rick Mirer for the most ever in a season for an Irish QB with nine.

STANFORD - Stanford became a college football powerhouse behind its power offense.

Formations with nine offensive linemen. An offense that relies on multiple tight ends. A bruising fullback to create holes in the running game.

Coach David Shaw has added a new wrinkle this season: speed.

With Christian McCaffrey running past defenders and into Heisman Trophy consideration and freshman Bryce Love taking advantage of his limited opportunities to deliver big plays in a flash, the 13th-ranked Cardinal (9-2) have become more difficult to defend than ever.

“We’ve talked so much about increasing our speed really for the last six or seven years,” Shaw said. “To find those guys that can finish plays. We talked a couple years ago about tired of having 20-yard gains, we want 50-yard touchdowns.”

The Cardinal have eight touchdowns of at least 50 yards this season and six more of 40 or more yards, making them a threat to score from almost any part of the field.

McCaffrey and Love are the biggest reason for this added element, providing an added challenge for defenses. The next team to try to slow down the Cardinal, who have scored at least 30 points in 10 consecutive games, is No. 4 Notre Dame.

“They’ve had speed on the perimeter, and I just think that they’ve got McCaffrey who gives it to them in all phases of the game,” said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who will get an up-close look at McCaffrey and Co. when the teams meet Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “I think that’s probably the difference on offense.”

McCaffrey leads the nation in all-purpose yards (2,807) and is second in yards rushing (1,546) and hasn’t gotten there at four yards a clip. McCaffrey has four of Stanford’s long touchdowns and several other big plays that ended before the end zone.

“I think that we’re kind of a cliché power football team is what people like to call us and we have so much speed and athleticism on this team, it’s fun to see,” McCaffrey said. “I think it does surprise a lot of defenses.”

McCaffrey has done his damage from a multitude of positions, scoring on long runs from the backfield, passes and even a 98-yard kickoff return in the Big Game against California last week.

“He’s an explosive runner,” offensive lineman Joshua Garnett said. “You just give him one little crease and he’s gone.”

When teams focus on stopping McCaffrey, that’s when Love steps in. Used only sparingly as he learns Stanford’s complex offense, Love’s sprinter speed has added a dangerous element to the offense.

He has three big-play touchdowns and is averaging 11.4 yards on his 37 offensive touches. Love’s latest touchdown came late against Cal when Kevin Hogan faked a handoff to McCaffrey and then gave it to Love on a jet sweep.

Love sprinted 48 yards for the touchdown to seal the win.

“We had been setting them up with run plays with Christian. And then I went out to the slot and running in the same plays with me out there, just to set it up,” Love said. “And then finally, I came in there and got the reverse called and I just ran in. It was open.”

McCaffrey and Love are far from alone when it comes to big-play threats for Stanford. Barry Sanders has two long touchdown runs and receiver Michael Rector is a capable deep threat for Hogan. Sophomore receiver Isaiah Brandt-Sims might be the fastest of all but he hasn’t caught a pass yet this season.

“I think we have got one heck of a 4x100 team,” Shaw said. “I think it’s truly special.”