Notre Dame defense preps for Stanford, Luck

Published Nov. 22, 2011 9:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly knows Stanford is going to be hard for the Irish to stop.

He just wants his defense to keep points off the board.

No. 4 Stanford hosts Notre Dame this weekend and the Cardinal boast an offense behind quarterback Andrew Luck that is averaging 45 points per game. Stanford (10-1) has only trailed in three games all season. Kelly says the 22nd-ranked Irish (8-3) need to limit Stanford on early downs to get Luck into passing situations.