The Notre Dame running game finally picked up steam last Saturday against Purdue in South Bend. The Fighting Irish hope to continue to be effective on the ground this Saturday when the Stanford Cardinal visit Notre Dame Stadium.

Plagued by penalties and inconsistent work along the offensive line, tailback Darius Walker was unable to feel comfortable carrying the ball through Notre Dame's first four contests. However, head coach Charlie Weis made the running game a point of emphasis from the opening kickoff against Purdue. Walker had six touches on the opening drive—five carries and a catch off a screen pass—to set up freshman George West's 11-yard touchdown—his first career score—on an end around. Walker accounted for 59 of the yards on the game's opening drive.

On its next possession, Walker helped lead the Irish on another seven- play drive, finishing the drive with a 14-yard scamper for a touchdown after the Boilermakers had tied the game at 7. Walker finished the game with 146 yards on 31 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

A huge factor in Walker's success was the improved play of a veteran offensive line which was predicted to be one of Notre Dame's many strengths this season. Although it had struggled with consistently controlling the line of scrimmage in its first four games, the men up front executed much better against a relatively overmatched Purdue front four. Quarterback Brady Quinn was comfortable in the pocket throughout the 35-21 victory, finishing 29-for-38 for 316 yards and two touchdowns. The strong play of the O-line, Walker and Quinn helped Notre Dame finish 8-for-14 on third down conversions, easing concerns of another problematic area through the first four contests.

The Stanford Cardinal, Notre Dame's opponent Saturday, have many areas of concern in head coach Walt Harris' second season at the helm. Averaging just 15.8 points per game, the Cardinal played without their top two receivers and starting backfield last week in their 31-0 loss to UCLA. Stanford, at 0-5, is off to its worst start since 1983 and will need an error-free game from quarterback Trent Edwards, who completed just 12 of 23 passes for 117 yards and three interceptions in the loss to UCLA last week, to be competitive on Saturday. Making matters worse for Stanford, their defense has allowed 458.8 yards per game, third-worst in the nation.

Notre Dame has won the last four meetings between the schools, although it needed Walker's touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion with under a minute left to beat Stanford 38-31 last season. The Cardinal have lost five straight in South Bend since 1992.