Notre Dame football vs Stanford: Things to watch for Offense in Week 7

The Notre Dame football team takes on Stanford at home on Saturday night, and here are some offensive keys to keep an eye on in the matchup.

The 3-2 Notre Dame football team heads home in Week 7, as they welcome the Stanford Cardinal to Notre Dame Stadium. Their win this past weekend against BYU was technically a home game, but it was played at a neutral site, as the Irish went to the desert to battle it out with the Cougars.

Overall, the trip was a huge victory for the Irish, as they dominated BYU, and showed they could be elite on both sides of the ball. Now, they have to avoid a letdown against Stanford, who has a solid signal-caller in Tanner McKee but is struggling in a big way this season.

Notre Dame football vs Stanford: Things to watch for Offense in Week 7

Will Pyne continue to thrive?

For the past two and a half games, quarterback Drew Pyne has looked like the real deal as the starting quarterback for the Irish. He is completing better than 72 percent of his passes, has thrown nine touchdowns against only two interceptions, and is showing the kind of leadership this team was desperately lacking.

Now, going into start No. 4, he is fresh off being named to the Davey O’Brien Great 8 Award, given weekly to the eight best quarterbacks in the country, and has to be beaming with confidence. Notre Dame football has found its starter, and the only question now is how much better he can be.

More production from Jayden Thomas?

One bright spot from the win against BYU was the play of Jayden Thomas, a player many had high expectations for going into this season. We heard a ton about how great Thomas has been in practice, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him bring that kind of production against the Cougars.

Now, we see if he is truly a player who is going to make an impact on this offense for the long haul this season. If he can show Saturday was no fluke, the future starts getting very bright at the position group, as he would be a third potential star alongside Tobias Merriweather and Lorenzo Styles Jr.

How good can this running back group be?

A big reason for the turnaround for this Irish offense has been the play of the running back group, as the trio of Chris Tyree, Audric Estime, and Logan Diggs may be the best in the country. Estime and Diggs have been more than impressive as true sophomores this season, and Tyree is a veteran back who can do everything.

The emergence of this trio has helped Drew Pyne settle in as the starting quarterback, and is allowing the offensive line to thrive. On Saturday night, the Irish should be able to run all over this Stanford defense, and we will see which of the backs get close to, or over 100 yards in the contest.