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SOUTH BEND – Stanford has the player to attack one of the weakest points of the Notre Dame’s defense.
Cardinal senior running back Toby Gerhart will be unleashed at 8 p.m. Saturday in Palo Alto, Calif., against an Irish run defense that is giving up 160.3 yards per game.
Gerhart is averaging 139.2 rushing yards, third best in the nation, and the 6-foot-1, 235-pound back has run for 200 or more yards twice and has a nation-leading 23 touchdowns for Stanford (7-4).
Gerhart’s 200-yard games came against then-No. 24 Washington in a 34-14 victory Sept. 26 and then-No. 8 Oregon in a 51-42 win Nov. 7.
“He’s just explosive, and he keeps his legs moving at all times,” Irish linebacker Darius Fleming said in a statement as the team didn’t allow interviews with players and assistant coaches this week.
“He’s one of the few running backs that keeps his legs running after contact. Besides him being a big guy, him being as quick as he is and as powerful as he is, he is tough.”
Gerhart, who is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s top running back, runs behind a Cardinal offensive line that averages 297 pounds.
Although primarily a power runner, he can also get to the outside and has two runs of 60 or more yards this season.
Irish coach Charlie Weis said he could point to Stanford’s offensive line, tight ends and hardnosed mentality for its rushing success, but the embattled Irish coach said Gerhart deserves most of the credit.
“That No.7 (Gerhart), the guy with the ball in his hands, you know, he’s special,” Weis said. “He gets a lot of hidden yardage because you don’t get 139 yards a game by just running in open field all the time and just by scheme. I mean, this kid is a heck of a runner.”
Gerhart is also tough to bring down.
Weis said the best way to stop Gerhart is to gang-tackle him, an area in which the Irish have struggled this season.
Irish safety Kyle McCarthy, who leads the team with 90 tackles, said the defense has to attack Gerhart at full speed.
“You’ve got to be physical and right back up there with him and just go get after him,” McCarthy said.
“As far as practice, I’m sure it will be a physical week of practice to get us ready for it.”
To prepare for Gerhart, Notre Dame (6-5) matched its first-team offense against its first-team defense.
But even trying to simulate the speed of game might not be enough to help the Irish slow the Cardinal’s running game, which averages 219.3 yards.
“They are just a power-run team,” Irish linebacker Brian Smith said. “They have some sets in there that are obvious run plays, but they are going to just try and run it down your throat. They are going to show you what they are going to run, but they are going to try and run it down your throat.”
