Notre Dame Football: 5 problematic Stanford Cardinal players

The Notre Dame football team goes on the road this Saturday to battle rival Stanford University in a game that marks the conclusion of the regular season.

Notre Dame is looking for a dominant win against the once ranked Cardinal team, in an effort to make a last ditch effort for consideration for a New Year’s Six Bowl berth. If they are going to accomplish this, they will need to overcome a talented Stanford team, especially these five problematic players.

Simi Fehoko, Wide Receiver

Simi Fehoko has an uncanny ability to find the end zone for Stanford University. Despite the Cardinal offense only being able to amass 16 receiving touchdowns on the season, Fehoko has been able to account for six of those 16 touchdowns. At 6’4″, 226 pounds, Fehoko gives quarterback Davis Mills a big target in the red zone.

The talented Irish secondary will need to remain cognizant of where Fehoko lines up in big situations, as he is their primary target on critical play calls. He essentially plays the role of Chase Claypool role for Stanford. Since he accounts for 26 percent of the total touchdowns scored this season by the Cardinal offense, shutting down Fehoko will be crucial to Notre Dame’s success.

Casey Toohill, Linebacker

Due to the plethora of injuries that the Notre Dame offensive line has sustained this season, they are playing with a number of linemen who began the year as less experienced backups. So far, it has not adversely impacted the Irish offense, as they have been able to put up a combined 130 points over their past three games.

That said, the Notre Dame offensive line will need to be aware of senior linebacker Casey Toohill. The 6’4″, 250 pound linebacker is a tackling machine with 54 tackles on the season. He thrives in the role of playmaker, as he leads Stanford’s defense in sacks with eight and he has forced a fumble on the season as well. Keeping Toohill in check and away from quarterback Ian Book will go a long way in assuring another superb game from the senior quarterback.

Paulson Adebo, Cornerback

Since leading the team to a last second victory against Virgina Tech, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book has reverted to the dominant version of himself that Irish fans witnessed most of last season. During that span he has thrown 12 touchdowns with only two interceptions over a three game span, with the interceptions coming in the first game of that three game span in the frigid game against Duke.

If Book hopes to continue that success against Stanford, he is going to need to avoid making mistakes in the direction of Paulson Adebo. The 6’1″, 190 pound junior cornerback has 33 tackles, four interceptions and ten pass deflections on the season. He is a lockdown corner who possesses great ball hawking abilities that will make Book pay if he makes a mistake. Keeping Adebo at bay will be critical for the success of Book and the Irish passing game.

Colby Parkinson, Tight End

There are big red zone targets and then there is the behemoth red zone target that is Cody Parkinson. At 6’8″, 255 pounds, Parkinson gives Stanford quarterback Davis Mills a massive receiver when looking for critical first downs or scores inside the red zone.

The Irish defense will need to be sure to have Parkinson locked down in those situation, as he has a massive height advantage over defenders, which has allowed the junior tight end to amass 552 yards and a touchdown on 45 receptions this season. Preventing the quarterback from having open looks to Parkinson will be a necessity if the Irish hope to shut down the Stanford passing game.

Davis Mills, Quarterback

In 2017, with Notre Dame looking to end the season against Stanford with a win to give them a chance at a New Years Six Bowl Game, KJ Costello would throw for four touchdowns against the Irish, leading Stanford to a 38-20 win. Costello, who is an NFL prospect, was expected to be a key matchup against Notre Dame this weekend, however, due an injury, Costello will give way to backup quarterback Davis Mills.

Mills, a redshirt sophomore, was a five star recruit and the top rated quarterback in his recruiting class. By definition, he is blue chip talent. Starting in place of Costello two weeks ago against Washington State, Mills through for a school record 504 passing yards, completing 33 of the 50 passes he through, becoming the first Cardinal quarterback since Andrew Luck to throw for over 400 yards.

Mills has the pedigree to excel in the passing game. However, his offensive line consists of a number of young inexperienced backups, due to a plague of injuries to their starters, and the Stanford run game has been nearly non-existent this season. If the Irish defense can keep the pressure on Mills all game, they should be able to limit the amount of offensive output the talented young sophomore can produce.