INSIDE SLANT

It’s hard to say what Stanford is playing for in its final regular-season game against Notre Dame on Nov. 28 at Stanford, and that absence of a tangible incentive might show up in the Cardinal’s performance.

Stanford’s conference season is over, and the Cardinal lost its chance to earn a share of the Pac-10 title with its deflating upset loss to California last week.

The Cardinal could move up in the Pac-10 bowl pecking order, but even if it wins, Stanford will probably wind up in the Emerald or Las Vegas Bowl, and there wouldn’t be much of ego boost if the Cardinal jumped up to the Sun Bowl anyway. Stanford’s shot at the Pac-10’s two prestige bowls, the Roe and the Holiday, are virtually gone.

Toby Gerhart could reinitiate Heisman Trophy talk with a big game, because any performance against the Irish is magnified in the national eye. If he goes for, say, 200 yards, and has some eye-catching, bulldozer runs in the process, Gerhart could get back in the Heisman discussion, and probably earn a trip to New York. However, the Cardinal’s final regular-season ranking might be too low for Gerhart to have a shot at winning it.

So Stanford is left with the idea that it’s preferable to be 8-4 instead of 7-5 and that finishing the regular season with consecutive losses would slap an unhappy face on what has otherwise been a breakthrough season for Stanford and its coach, Jim Harbaugh.

To beat the fading Irish, the Cardinal will have to restart its offense, which had been nearly unstoppable in its three games prior to its inexplicable problems against Cal on Nov. 21. Quarterback Andrew Luck had his worst game of the season against Cal’s suspect pass defense, and Gerhart did not do as much as expected, despite collecting 136 yards rushing.

Stanford should be able to score on Notre Dame, whose defense is weak, especially against the run. Gerhart could have the big game he needs to get back in the headlines, and Luck could have the game he needs to regain his confidence, if ever it was lost.

The Irish offense will give Stanford problems, though. Jimmy Clausen is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and though Stanford’s pass defense is improving, it is still the team’s weakness.

Notre Dame’s incentives are not readily apparent either. The best it can do is assure itself a winning record and leave a good impression that could affect Charlie Weis’ job security.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Irish QB Jimmy Clausen was punched in the face during a barroom fracas following the Nov. 21 loss to Connecticut according to reports, but he is expected to start against Stanford.

—A win against Notre Dame would give Stanford just its third eight-win season in the past 17 seasons, and keep alive hopes for its third nine-win seasons in 31 years.

• Stanford has lost seven straight games to Notre Dame.

• Stanford needs 69 yards on the ground to break the school record for rushing yards in a season—2,481, set in 1949.

• Stanford has yielded only 0.55 sacks per game, which ranks second in the country behind only Boise State at 0.45 sacks per game.

• The Nov. 24 game against Notre Dame may be Toby Gerhart’s final home game. He is scheduled to graduate in March, but he has another year of eligibility left after missing nearly all of his sophomore season with a knee injury. He is weighing the option of entering the NFL Drafter after this season, though.

Series History:   Notre Dame leads 17-6 (last meeting 2008, 28-21 Notre Dame)

Scouting The Offense:   Stanford’s potent offense was inexplicably slowed by California on Nov. 21. After a 61-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play, Toby Gerhart did little on the ground the rest of the game, and QB Andrew Luck had his worst game of the season, going 10-for-30. Was it just a bad game, or are there serious flaws? It had been suspected that Stanford’s offense would suffer if it got behind, because it would no longer be able to practice ball control, and that proved to be the case to some extent against Cal. The Cardinal took to the air in the second half, and it did not produce the offensive momentum Stanford has had in past games. Still, the season-long statistics for Gerhart, Luck and the Cardinal offense are good, and there is no reason to believe Stanford will have trouble moving the ball on Notre Dame.

Scouting The Defense:   There are reasons for optimism on Stanford’s defense, especially the play of freshman LB Shayne Skov and the improvement of the cornerbacks. But the bottom line is that Stanford’s defense has been protected by the Cardinal’s ball-control offense much of the season and was exposed against Cal. The Cardinal simply could not stop a Cal offense that was without its star running back (Jahvid Best) and had not been particularly productive in the passing game. Time after time, Cal marched down the field on long time-consuming drives. Worst of all, Stanford was unable to mount a pass rush, something it had done in most games. Notre Dame’s offense is better than Cal’s, especially in the passing game.

Quote To Note:   “I think we all looked in the mirror and said we all took turns in not getting it done.”—Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, of his message after losing to California on Nov. 21.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

This Week  ‘S GAME: Notre Dame at Stanford, Nov. 28—Notre Dame has beaten the Cardinal seven times in a row, but four of those games were decided by eight points or less. Stanford’s last win against the Irish came in 2001, when the Cardinal finished the regular season 9-2. The first meeting of the two teams came in the Rose Bowl following the 1924 season, when Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen helped the Irish to a 27-10 victory over a Stanford team coached by Pop Warner and led by Ernie Nevers. This year, the game is a matchup of strengths against weaknesses as Notre Dame’s strong passing game should move the ball on Stanford’s suspect defense and Stanford’s potent attack should have success against the Irish’s mediocre defense.

Keys To The Game:   Stanford needs to have some long, time-consuming drives to keep the ball away from Jimmy Clausen. That has been the formula to Stanford’s success all season. The Cardinal needs to establish Toby Gerhart early and often, and the Cardinal could wear down Notre Dame over the course of the game. It would be helpful if Andrew Luck has a big game, but that will happen automatically, if Notre Dame is unable to stop Gerhart. Defensively, the Cardinal needs to apply pressure on Clausen. He will still get his yards, but a pass rush would minimize Notre Dame’s chances for a big play.

Players To Watch:   TB Toby Gerhart—He had “only” 136 yards against Cal, and Jim Harbaugh took some heat for not giving the ball to Gerhart as much in the second half. Even Harbaugh said he should have let Gerhart run more. Look for Harbaugh to give Gerhart plenty of chances against Notre Dame, and he could rack up big numbers against the Irish.

QB Andrew Luck—How will the redshirt freshman react to his first poor game? He had been going along without a problem in the world, and life is easy for a quarterback when things are going well. But only the standout quarterbacks can dismiss a bad game from their minds and retain their confidence. Luck seems to have the poise and maturity to do it, but we’ll see.

CB Richard Sherman—He has had an interception in each of the past two games, but he is still the defender opposing quarterbacks pick on, and Jimmy Clausen is sure to test Sherman often. Sherman has improved during the season after losing his starting job midway through the season, but this will be a major test for the converted wide receiver.

Roster Report:  

• LB Nick Macaluso sustained an undisclosed leg injury that forced him to leave the Nov. 21 game against Cal, but there is a good chance he will play in the Notre Dame game.

• Toby Gerhart is second nationally in rushing yardage, with 1,531. He is 38 yards behind UTEP’s Donald Buckram. Gerhart leads the nation in rushing attempts with 282.

• Stanford assistant coach Willie Taggart, who was Jim Harbaugh’s best man at his wedding, was named head coach at Western Kentucky.

• Andrew Luck’s 2,377 passing yards are the most ever by a Stanford freshman.