Stanford announcer: Notre Dame can expect Cardinal to be physical

admin October 13, 2012 0

By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent

Each and every week during the Irish football season, IndySportsLegends.com interviews Notre Dame’s upcoming opponent’s radio play-by-play announcer.

This week IndySportsLegends.com spoke with Dave Flemming, the Voice of the Cardinal.

Flemming is also the radio voice of the San Francisco Giants (along with Jon Miller) and will soon be calling games in the National League Championship Series.

Following is what Flemming had to say about No. 17 Stanford, who is 4-1 overall, 2-1 in the Pac-12 following a 54-48 home overtime win over Arizona Saturday, and its game against the Irish Saturday afternoon in Notre Dame Stadium.

IndySportsLegends.com: Is it surprising that the Cardinal is 4-1 so far this season without Andrew Luck?
Flemming: I don’t think it’s surprising because I think Stanford has an immensely talented team, they just don’t have as talented of a quarterback. But I do think they have an extremely talented roster and a lot of not just experienced players, but really high-level players.

This Stanford team has a bunch of guys who are going to play in the NFL.

IndySportsLegends.com: Was the win over USC somewhat unexpected or did you see that coming in a way?
Flemming: I definitely thought they would be able to compete and thought they had a chance to beat them.

I think the thing that was surprising was how brutally they shut down USC’s offense. That surprised me quite a bit. I figured Stanford was going to have to score 30 points (to win).

I was surprised by the way they were just able to totally dismantle USC’s offense (in the 21-14 win).

IndySportsLegends.com: Is Stanford a legitimate contender for the Pac-12 title?
Flemming: Oh yeah, I think so. I don’t think there’s anybody on the schedule, including Oregon (Nov. 17 in Eugene), that Stanford cannot beat.

I do think when you don’t have consistent quarterback play, that takes away your margin of error in a lot of games, and particularly road games.

I’m not expecting Stanford to win 11 or 12 games like they have the last few years, but I do believe they are a contending team and can beat anybody.

IndySportsLegends.com: Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has talked this week about just how physical a team Stanford is. Can you put into words the kind of physicality the Cardinal will bring to Notre Dame Stadium?
Flemming: Well, not necessarily good news for Notre Dame fans, but Notre Dame has a pretty good idea of how physical they are because Stanford has just drilled the Irish physically the last few times they played them.

The last time Stanford was here (in South Bend) was really just an annihilation and it was an annihilation along the lines. They just beat up Notre Dame on both sides of the ball (en route to a 37-14 win in 2010).

I think that’s one of the reasons Kelly has been talking that way is because his guys know it first hand and I think it’s his way of sort of challenging them to say, ˜We can’t let this happen again.’

What Stanford has done over the last few years is not just recruit well along the lines, although that’s part of it, but to develop a tough-guy mentality where they’re a physical program and they play the style of ball that demands that. That physical nature is just part of the identity of Stanford football these days.

IndySportsLegends.com: In a way is Stanford somewhat of the nation’s best-kept secrets? When you look at this team’s roster and depth chart, there aren’t too many weaknesses would you say?
Flemming: There’s aren’t many weaknesses and there’s a lot of young talent that is on its way that’s on the roster already.

Stanford is not going away. If there’s a secret, I think that’s maybe the secret. This team is talented now and it’s going to stay that way. They’ve recruited really well and they have a legitimate program year to year now more so than at any point in a long long time. They have pieces in place to sustain success.

This year, who knows? Stanford could win eight or they could win 11. It’s not guaranteed to be a special year because they do have some flaws.

Where this is a team that gets underestimated is everybody is just waiting for Stanford to wilt and go away. Frankly, I just don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. They just have too many good players.

IndySportsLegends.com: Talk about the quarterback play Stanford has gotten from Josh Nunes.
Flemming: He’s been at times just terrible in the short passing game. The last game against Arizona he was better there.

He’s a great kid, very calm and cool under pressure. He doesn’t get rattled, maybe too much so he’s so even-keeled. Sometimes you would like to see him get upset every once in a while. Ultimately that’s a good quality to have as a quarterback.

He throws a very nice deep ball. He goes down field accurately. I can’t remember a quarterback like this, but he just struggles with easy passing, the short-passing game and that really cost Stanford at Washington (in a 17-13 loss).

This is a team that’s not nearly as efficient in the red zone as they were. They were a great red zone team with Andrew Luck at the healm.

They’re not very good on third down. Third-and-five for Stanford right now is a very difficult down.

IndySportsLegends.com: How big of a blow will it be to not have top receiver Ty Montgomery against the Irish?
Flemming: It’s a blow. He’s very physically talented, but hasn’t played very well this year. I think Stanford can replace his production.

He’s an extraordinary talent, a true NFL kind of body, and is blazing fast. He’s a really good player, but he’s dropped a lot of passes this year.

That’s not to say they won’t miss him, but he has really not been that big a part of the offense so far so I think Stanford will be just fine without him. They have some other receivers and they’ll focus more on the tight ends and those two tight ends are really like wide receivers with the way they use them.

IndySportsLegends.com: Stanford has allowed the fewest sacks in the Pac-12 and it excels in run defense. We also talked about the Cardinal’s physical style of play, but what other strengths does this team have?
Flemming: They have a running back who is one of the best players in the country in Stepfan Taylor. He is just really really good.

He doesn’t miss blocks, he doesn’t miss assignments, he gets extra yardage and is a tough kid. He can break open a big play. He’s the real deal. He torched USC.

They have two tight ends who are probably better than any pair of tight ends in college football. (Levine) Toilolo is 6-foot-8, 280 (pounds) and is a pass catcher and a mauler on the line and Zach Ertz is very much in the mold of (Tyler) Eifert. He’s a very gifted pass receiver, who can get open even against faster guys.

They have two excellent offensive linemen. (Left guard David) Yankey and (right tackle Cameron) Fleming are NFL offensive linemen and that’s part of the reason why Stanford is so good at protection.

They have four really good linebackers. Chase Thomas and Shayne Skov are sort of the headliners, but this kid Trent Murphy has played better than anybody so far this year. He’s a physical freak at 6-6, 260, runs, jumps and gets in the way of passes. He’s a really talented kid.

Stanford’s pass defense is getting criticized and they have given up a lot of yards although they have played so many pass-heavy teams so I think that’s a little skewed, but they have good athletes back there. The safeties are improved. The defensive backs are young, but talented.

There are a lot of strengths on this team.

IndySportsLegends.com: What concerns Stanford most about the Irish?
Flemming: I expect Stanford’s defense to play well. The 600 yards they gave up last week I think was an aberration. I’ve watched a lot of football and the quarterback for Arizona (Matt Scott, who threw for 491 yards) played one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen anybody play. He was basically perfect. Stanford found a way to beat them, but it took everything they had.

I think Stanford’s defense will keep this a low-scoring game so then it comes down to the quarterback. He just has to be a little better than he has been for most of this year and if he is I think Stanford has a legit chance to win this game.

Controlling the two guys up front, (Louis) Nix and (Stephon) Tuitt I think Stanford knows Manti Te’o is going to get a lot of tackles. He has gotten a lot of tackles the last few years. I don’t think they worry too much about that. I think they worry about the guys up front creating negative plays and Stanford is young along the offensive line. If they can contain those guys a little bit, I think they feel pretty good about their chances.

IndySportsLegends.com: Short of a prediction, what kind of a game do you envision between the Cardinal and Irish? Are we in for a defensive battle where the weather could be a factor?
Flemming: I think so. I don’t think either team sees 30 and I’m not sure either team sees 25.

I think it will be the type of game that Notre Dame has been playing. I know the Irish offense has exploded a couple of times, but most of the games are of the 24-10 variety. I think it will be a little closer than that tomorrow, but that’s the kind of game I expect.

Those are the kind of games that are dictated on capitalizing in the red zone, taking care of the ball and/or getting a big return on special teams, which Stanford has been pretty good on this year.