It was a fitting end to a season defined by last-minute losses.
Junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s bid for a sixth touchdown pass was batted away as time expired, enabling Stanford to hang on to a 45-38 comeback victory Saturday night in what quite likely was Charlie Weis’ final game as Notre Dame’s head coach.
Clausen, perhaps on his way to the NFL after this season, completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards and five touchdowns – three to junior Golden Tate (10 catches, 201 yards) and two to sophomore Michael Floyd, but the Irish had no answer for Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart, who stated his Heisman Trophy case with 205 yards rushing and three scores – including the game-winner with 59 seconds remaining.
First Quarter: Notre Dame, 14-10
After Stanford’s Chris Owusu returned the opening kickoff to the Cardinal 46, Notre Dame’s defense stuffed Gerhart on third-and-2 – but on the first play after the punt, Irish freshman tailback Theo Riddick fumbled the ball away, and Stanford recovered at Notre Dame’s 13-yard line. Three plays later, with 11:34 on the clock, Gerhart plunged in for a touchdown from four yards out.
Gerhart eclipsed 200 yards and posted three rushing touchdowns against the Irish.
The Irish went three and out on their next possession, but on the punt return, Stanford’s Tyler Gaffney was stripped by senior safety Sergio Brown, and sophomore offensive lineman Braxston Cave recovered the loose ball at the Cardinal 16-yard line. Junior fullback Robert Hughes caught a short 9-yard pass, then bulled forward on third down to set up first-and-goal at the 5. On the next play, Clausen hit Tate in the front left corner of the end zone to even the score at 7-7 with 8:56 remaining.
Brown helped stall the next Cardinal drive with a sack of Andrew Luck, forcing Stanford to settle for a 40-yard field goal by former Notre Dame walk-on Nate Whitaker. That kick put the home club back in front by three with 5:59 to go.
Clausen converted consecutive third-and-long situations with tosses to Hughes and Tate, and then dumped off on another third down to Riddick, who picked up 24 yards to the Stanford 18. On the next play, with 40 seconds left in the period, the quarterback escaped pressure and put one up in the end zone for Floyd, who kept his toe inbounds while hauling in an 18-yard scoring pass.
The period ended with the Cardinal on the move again at the Notre Dame 44-yard line.
The Big Moment: With the Irish in an early hole, Brown came up with a big takeaway on special teams, setting up a tying touchdown and giving the visitors a much-needed adrenaline rush.
By The Numbers: Notre Dame outgained the Cardinal, 97-74...Stanford had a slim 39-32 edge in rushing yardage, while the Irish had a 65-35 advantage through the air...The visitors had a slight edge in time of possession, 8:02 to 6:58...Notre Dame converted 4 of 5 third downs in the period.
Second Quarter: Notre Dame, 24-20
Whitaker got the Cardinal back within one, 14-13, with a 47-yard field goal at the 12:39 mark, but Hughes carried the Irish across midfield with four rushes for 39 yards – including a 15-yarder on fourth-and-1 from Stanford’s 44-yard line. That helped set up a 42-yard kick by junior David Ruffer with 7:25 to go, stretching Notre Dame’s lead back to four points.
The Irish were buried deep in its own territory after forcing a Cardinal punt, but a personal foul penalty against Stanford gave Notre Dame a fresh set of downs at its 22-yard line – and on the next play, Clausen found Tate deep for a 78-yard touchdown and a 24-13 edge with 4:23 remaining in the half.
Stanford came right back, however, and squeezed another score in before the intermission. Luck hit tight end Coby Fleener for 22 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the Irish 2-yard line, and fullback Owen Marecic rammed his way in on third down from inside the 1 with 11 seconds to go. Whitaker’s PAT made it a 24-20 contest.
The Big Moment: A flag on Stanford’s Richard Sherman, after the Irish had all but resigned themselves to a punt from their own 7-yard line, set up Tate’s second touchdown of the half and gave Notre Dame a brief two-score advantage.
By The Numbers: Notre Dame finished the half with a 230-180 advantage in total offense, thanks in large part to a 151-99 edge in passing yardage...Stanford had slight edges in both rushing yardage (81-79) and time of possession (15:45 to 14:15)...Clausen completed 11 of 16 passes, including six to Tate...Gerhart picked up 73 yards on 14 first-half carries.
Third Quarter: Notre Dame, 31-27
Tate opened the half with a 15-yard gain on a reverse, and Hughes followed with a rush and short reception to pick up a first down at the Stanford 46. Then, Clausen took an end-around pitch from Tate out of the Wildcat formation and chucked the ball upfield to a wide-open Floyd for a touchdown and a 31-20 cushion.
Stanford countered with a nine-play, 81-yard scoring march, capped at the 8:12 mark by a 10-yard Gerhart run, then forced a Notre Dame punt and moved back into striking distance at the Irish 34 on passes of 33 yards to Gerhart and 21 yards to Owusu.
The Cardinal advanced as far as the 9-yard line, but the Notre Dame defense held on third down, leaving Stanford to ponder fourth-and-seven from the 11 as the period came to an end.
The Big Moment: Floyd’s second touchdown had Notre Dame on the brink of pulling away, but the Cardinal were able to stem the tide with a methodical scoring march as the tit-for-tat continued.
By The Numbers: Stanford controlled the period and overtook the Irish in total yardage, 347-329...Notre Dame maintained a 225-170 edge in passing, but Stanford opened up a 177-104 cushion on the ground...Possession time favored the Cardinal, 26:27 to 18:33.
Fourth Quarter: Stanford, 45-38
Whitaker opened the final frame with a 29-yard field goal that cut the Irish lead to one, 31-30, but Notre Dame came right back the other way yet again. Following a pair of pass interference penalties, Clausen dumped a short pass to Tate, who made the catch and wove his way through traffic for a 28-yard touchdown at the 12:56 mark.
Stanford was far from done, however, and it came back with a gutsy call to tie the game up. On fourth-and-4 from the Irish 18-yard line. Gerhart took a handoff and appeared set to run up the middle, but he stopped short of the line of scrimmage and lofted a pass into the end zone for Ryan Whalen, who came up with a diving grab between two Notre Dame defenders, cutting the deficit to 38-36 with 8:59 to go. Luck then connected with tight end Jim Dray on the two-point conversion to even the score.
The Cardinal then made a big third-down stop to force a punt, and took over at its 29-yard line with 5:48 remaining in regulation. After crossing midfield, Stanford picked up a big third-down conversion when Luck hit Fleener for 14 yards to the Notre Dame 35. Gerhart then bulled his way for a first down on a short rush and followed with a 19-yard burst to set up first-and-goal at the 4-yard line with 1:03 to go.
Notre Dame let Gerhart get the touchdown on the next play to give itself 59 seconds for a chance at a tie from 80 yards away – but Clausen was sacked by Thomas Keiser at the 11 on first down, forcing the Irish to burn their final timeout. Tate came up with a 43-yard grab at the Stanford 46, then followed with catches of 16 and six yards along the sideline, putting the ball at the 24 with 25 seconds left.
Clausen, though, was sacked by Chase Thomas and Notre Dame had to spike the ball at the 31 to set up one final play. Michael Thomas batted away the jump-ball toss to the end zone as time expired.
The Big Moment: In a game where defensive stops were at a premium, Stanford’s ability to prevent Hughes from converting a third-and-two in a tie game was perhaps the most underrated big play of the night.
By The Numbers: Thanks to a dominating second half, Stanford finished with overwhelming advantages in time of possession (35:16 to 24:44) and rushing yardage (280 to 107), as well as a 496-447 edge in total offense...Notre Dame still had a sizeable 340-216 cushion in passing yardage...Notre Dame failed to convert on any of its five third downs after the first quarter.
