Notre Dame Football: Grading the Fighting Irish's Game vs. Stanford

After a tough-to-swallow 28-14 loss to Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal, it's time to hand out our weekly report card grades.

Saturday night marked tough times for the program, as the offense faced identity issues. Change-of-pace quarterback Andrew Hendrix relieved Tommy Rees in the second half and put a spark into the offense.

On the other side of the ball, the defense had a rough first half, but played inspired football during the second half. The young talent along the defensive line grew up before our eyes, without a doubt.

Follow along as we hand out Notre Dame's weekly report card grades.

Quarterbacks

Grade: C+

The quarterback position at Notre Dame may be the most intriguing position in the country at the current moment.

Tommy Rees began Saturday night's contest as the starter, but struggled from the start. In one half of action, Rees completed six of 13 pass attempts for 60 yards and one interception. He also fumbled the ball, giving him two turnovers on the night.

Brian Kelly knew that his team didn't have a chance to win with Tommy Rees as the starter, so he elected to go with Andrew Hendrix as the starter in the second half.

Hendrix played very well, given the circumstances (down 21-0 and against one of the nation's best defenses).

His mobility proved lethal, as he broke off a number of long runs on his way to 53 rushing yards. However, three sacks cut that number down to 20.

The offense responded well to the leadership and heart that Hendrix showed, making a quarterback controversy imminent leading up to the bowl game.

Running Backs

Grade: C

Irish running backs had a rough night at Stanford, and a slick field didn't help much. Neither did a potent Stanford rush defense.

Cierre Wood was only able to get the ball past the line of scrimmage on option pitches from Andrew Hendrix and was stuffed when taking the traditional hand-off.

Wood didn't get much help from his new teammate in the backfield, Theo Riddick. Credit Stanford's coaching staff for preparing well to defend that wrinkle.

The absence of Jonas Gray and the power running game hurt the Irish offense in a big way, and may have contributed to the offensive line's inability to control the line of scrimmage.

Receivers

Grade: B-

To state it simply, any receivers not named Tyler Eifert and Michael Floyd were seemingly invisible on Saturday night.

As usual, Michael Floyd was Notre Dame's most reliable target, hauling in eight receptions for 92 yards and one score.

Trust tight end Tyler Eifert finished the night with four receptions for 79 yards.

Those two weren't helped by Tommy Rees' poor play and the inexperience of Andrew Hendrix. Again, you have to credit Stanford's defense, especially the secondary, for executing the game-plan to perfection.

Offensive Line

Grade: C

A unit that had been so stout for much of the current season was manhandled by Stanford's defensive pressure.

The line failed to pick recognize and protect against Stanford's multiple blitz packages, resulting in Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix on their backs more often than not.

That wasn't the worst part, though.

The offensive line failed to control the line of scrimmage from the start and failed to match Stanford's physical toughness. The unit didn't come anywhere close to matching Stanford's level of intensity, either.

Defensive Line

Grade: B

The "Lynch Mob" really didn't make its presence felt until the second half, but asserted its dominance in the final 30 minutes of the game.

The group didn't record a sack, but that's a nearly impossible feat against the nation's best quarterback in Andrew Luck. However, the Heisman hopeful was pressured more than he was used to, forcing Luck into a number of quick throws.

The D-line was equally as impressive against the run in the second half. Cardinal running backs were met by the front four on nearly every attempt after halftime. The unit was also key in forcing Stanford into a number of tricky third down situations.

Linebackers

Grade: C+

For a linebacking corps that has been the subject of loads of criticism this season, it played fairly well against one of the nation's premier offenses.

Tackling was not an issue on Saturday evening, a rare feat for any linebacker not named Manti Te'o.

One particular area that the Irish 'backers struggled with, not surprisingly, was picking up the underneath routes in zone coverage. Andrew Luck had no problem checking down to those intermediate routes to pick up some big yardage.

Against the run game, Notre Dame's linebackers, aside from Te'o, showed that they continue to be a step or two slower than skill position players of opposing offenses.

It's an area of weakness that has been exposed week in and week out.

Secondary

Grade: C+

It's tough to grade any secondary when playing against Andrew Luck, the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Luck was held in check for a majority of the game, which was a direct result of Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco dropping eight men into coverage.

Luck, or his coaches at least, knew that Irish cornerback Gary Gray had been picked on all season, so they attacked him. That was a smart choice, as it led to Stanford's first touchdown to 6'8" tight end Levine Toilolo.

Special Teams

Grade: C

Let's get to the good before the bad. First and foremost, Ben Turk punted the ball in excellent fashion. The junior punted six times for 252 net yards, good for an average of 42 yards per punt. He also had two punts land inside Stanford's 20-yard line.

Now to the bad.

David Ruffer missed a 20-yard field goal attempt wide right. That's scary, considering a 20-yard attempt is usually nothing short of a chip-shot for the senior.

The punt return game was, once again, nonexistent. John Goodman was utilized, essentially, to call fair catches. A small statistic that may be of interest to Notre Dame fans is the three punt return yards the Irish have achieved all season.

That's right. Three.

Coaching

Grade: C

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but I believe Brian Kelly had his team well prepared heading into Saturday evening's contest against Stanford.

Yet, there was one decision that should have been made after Tommy Rees was banged up in the first quarter: go with Andrew Hendrix as the starter.

Hendrix proved as a threat to Stanford's defense due to his mobility and arm strength. Just look what he did in the second half. Hendrix led the Irish on two scoring drives, in which Stanford's defense had trouble stopping.

Notre Dame may not have won had Hendrix started the game, but the team certainly would have been in it until the bitter end.

Brian Kelly has some choices to make in the weeks leading up to the bowl game. Will he make the choices that will benefit his program in the long-term?

Only time will tell.

Intangibles

Grade: B+

If you're questioning the toughness of Notre Dame's football team, I'd advise you to go back and watch the second half of the Stanford game.

The offense, as well as the defense, responded positively to having Andrew Hendrix at quarterback. There's no question that he gave the team a better chance to win than Tommy Rees.

Were it not for an ill-timed interception, the Irish would have had a tantalizingly close chance to get back in the game.

Don't doubt the mental toughness and resolve of this team. It's there.