Notre Dame’s mission: Slow Luck, Stanford

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly knows bottling up Stanford’s offense is unlikely.

He just wants his defense to keep points off the board so the 22nd-ranked Fighting Irish don’t have to play from behind.

That will be the challenge Saturday when Notre Dame visits No. 4 Stanford, taking on a Cardinal attack led by quarterback Andrew Luck that is averaging 45 points per game.

“We know they’re going to get their yardage, they’re going to run the football, they’re an outstanding football team, they’re well coached,” Kelly said. “But keep the points down and give us an opportunity offensively to run our offense and not get into a state where we have to play catch up. Anybody that’s got to play a lot of catch up against them is in for a tough day.”

Most teams have been playing from behind against Stanford (10-1), which has trailed in only three games all season. Kelly said the Irish (8-3) need to limit Stanford on early downs to get Luck into passing situations.

“It’s a matter of us doing a really good job in play-action and knowing when he’s going to throw it. Putting him in those positions when he has to throw the football is the most important thing,” Kelly said. “First and second down are very crucial for us.”

Getting the ball back from the Stanford offense as soon as possible will help the Irish offense dictate the flow of the game. However, the Cardinal offense has only had 10 three-and-outs all season.

In the past few weeks, Kelly has occasionally employed a defensive look that has no defensive linemen in a three-point stance. This is done in hopes of causing confusion among the offensive line and running backs on which players they’re responsible for in pass protection, Kelly said.

Kelly doesn’t think his defense can confuse Luck, praising the quarterback’s poise under pressure.