Everything Stanford coach David Shaw said about Notre Dame football

Stanford (1-4) head coach David Shaw admitted Monday there are some “residual effects” being suffered among his players after blowing a late lead to lose 28-27 at home to Oregon State last weekend. Now they have to travel across the country to take on Notre Dame (3-2) as a 17-point underdog on the road.

Still, Shaw said the Cardinal are eager and ready to face such a challenge.

“This team just needs to taste it,” Shaw said. “They need to taste what it feels like to win and experience that.”

Easier said than done against a Notre Dame team that seems to be finding its stride. The Irish have rattled off three wins in a row and are home for their next two games against Shaw’s Cardinal and UNLV. Here’s everything Shaw said about Notre Dame in his press conference.

On freshman QB Charlie Mirer, the son of former Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer

“Charlie will be on the trip. He’s excited. I told him yesterday. He’s fired up. He went to high school down in [Southern California] but a lot of his life was spent in the Midwest. He’s excited to go back there. I’ve had good conversations with Rick. Never specifically about that [1992 Stanford-Notre Dame] game.

“But I’ve always had a lot of respect for Rick and the way he’s operated as a quarterback and now as a dad. He and his wife raised an outstanding son. I’m excited Charlie is on the team and glad he’s on the trip.”

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On the Fighting Irish generally

“On the defensive side, they’re big and they’re physical. Got a couple of marquee players in the front seven. Long and athletic in their secondary. They put pressure on you a couple different ways. The four-man rush is tough. A lot of press, man-to-man coverage. They’ll mix up the coverages, they’ll mix up the pressures. Inside linebackers are big and physical when they pressure you.

“On the offensive side, I know they sputtered a bit early. Quarterback had to come out, but they found their efficiency. They’re getting the ball to their athletes. They’re running the ball well. Keeping it off-balance with their play-calling. They found their stride, and they’re on a nice little run.”

On playing at Notre Dame

“There have been a lot of exciting games that we played there and have been fortunate enough to win multiple times in that stadium. Tight games, difficult games, games with a lot of really good football players. I’m excited to see this group, but I’ll say we’ve got a couple marquee players as well that want to come and have a chance to play extremely well on national TV. There is a lot of excitement, a lot of fire.

“I know we have a couple guys out, but at the same time we have to fill guys in and give ourselves a chance to go there and play our best football. Hopefully our best football of the year.”

On similarities and differences between Notre Dame in 2021 and 2022

“The structure of the defense with the head coach as the defensive coordinator last year, there is some familiarity there. Offensively a little bit different, but that always has to do with the personnel that you have and the quarterback that you have. What was just said a little while ago, they’re playing hard. They’re playing fast. They’re being aggressive and trying to put pressure on you in all three phases and make you react to what they’re doing. For us, that’s going to be the battle. We’re going to have to find ways to impose our will and find ways to try to make them react to what we’re doing.

“I think it’s going to be a heck of a football game. It’s going to be physical. Hopefully we find a way to get to where we were last game where it’s a one-score game in the fourth quarter and see if we can finish on top.”

On if Stepfan Taylor actually scored a touchdown against the Irish in overtime in 2012

“The first time, absolutely. The rules have changed since then. There is more of a mandate to review everything goal line play. He was in, I believe it was first down, he was in on first down. It did not get reviewed. The other rule change is crews working together. That was a mixed crew. The people in the box weren’t used to working with the people on the field. There was a lack of communication there.

“The statute of limitations have passed where I feel like I can speak freely about this. I feel like I’ve had multiple conversations with multiple people over the years. Some people I haven’t sought out; they sought me out, including some of the guys who were working in the truck, working in the van during that look at those. They insisted, I didn’t even push, they insisted that Stepfan was in.

“But, at the same time I say he was in, it would have been interesting to see how the rest of the game finished. That game also sparked us to go on a run. We lost one game the rest of that year on the way to the Rose Bowl. As I sit here in difficult times with this season, there are a lot of times where one play or one game can spark a run in your team. That’s what we’re hopefully looking forward to this season.”

On the rivalry with Notre Dame

“To me, this rivalry is a little bit different. We’re not in the same conference, but we choose to play each other every year. There is an academic standard that both places have. There is a high character element on each football team. There is appreciation for what each campus does. Not to mention there is a history for both football programs. There have been times where we’ve won back-to-back games. There have been times where they’ve won back-to-back games. There are times when we’ve split back and forth. There are times when we’d win at Notre Dame and they’d win at Stanford. There are all different kinds.

“There have been one-score games. There have been games where we left that game feeling a certain kind of way. There are games where we came back, got the ball with less than 20 seconds, hit two plays and kicked the game-winning field goal. So games have been back and forth, highly-contested. I think the alumni base of both places really appreciate this game and they come out in force. We’ll have a lot of Stanford people out there who are on the East Coast and Midwest. Both fan bases, both alumni bases really appreciate this rivalry.”