Sometimes, you play or cover a game when you know the result practically is a foregone conclusion. Not to get ahead of ourselves after only one quarter, but Notre Dame-Stanford feels like one of those games. Coming in, there wasn’t one area that seemed to give the Irish cause for concern against the Cardinal. That belief still holds up as the Irish have a 7-0 lead.
The Cardinal won the coin toss and opted to receive. It didn’t matter if they got the ball first because they promptly went three-and-out. In contrast, the Irish had little trouble moving the ball as their first offensive drive began with a 33-yard reception by Kevin Austin. From there, Jack Coan and the rest of the unit continued to excel, and Coan capped the drive by throwing a 16-yard touchdown pass to Braden Lenzy.
The next two drives saw both teams take turns picking up a first down and then punting. The Cardinal then had another three-and-out and…yeah, that seems to be an indicator of what kind of game we have in store. The Irish, meanwhile, converted on a fourth down and then got into the red zone, which is why they’ll have the ball to begin the second quarter. Anyone think this drive won’t end in points?