[GK3]

FWIW, someone (respected analytics guy Bill Connelly) crunched some numbers and thinks that based on the game stats, ND “should” have won:

[tweet] https://wwe.twitter.com/ESPN_BillC/statu...6377096192[/tweet]

We outgained Notre Dame (by a fair bit) and had two fewer turnovers than they did.  Usually that is a recipe for beating the opponent.  I guess if you start looking at more granular stuff, like yards per play, maybe they look a bit better, but at the end of the day, Notre Dame had exactly two drives of any significance in the game.

BC

But the turnovers were a product of the ball bouncing our way. Stanford had two fumbles and a punt blocked while Notre Dame had three fumbles. Neither team threw an interception. That profile would be expected to even out (or perhaps be a bit of an ND advantage because of the momentum swing a scoop and score can be) but instead were a massive advantage for Stanford. That’s luck. It’s not just yards per play that suggests Notre Dame “should” have won.

So its not luck when all the turnovers go against us?  Luck is always part of it, either way, so is how hard you play, and we played harder and to some extent "earned" those turnovers.

[GK3]

FWIW, someone (respected analytics guy Bill Connelly) crunched some numbers and thinks that based on the game stats, ND “should” have won:

[tweet] https://wwe.twitter.com/ESPN_BillC/statu...6377096192[/tweet]

We outgained Notre Dame (by a fair bit) and had two fewer turnovers than they did.  Usually that is a recipe for beating the opponent.  I guess if you start looking at more granular stuff, like yards per play, maybe they look a bit better, but at the end of the day, Notre Dame had exactly two drives of any significance in the game.

BC

But the turnovers were a product of the ball bouncing our way. Stanford had two fumbles and a punt blocked while Notre Dame had three fumbles. Neither team threw an interception. That profile would be expected to even out (or perhaps be a bit of an ND advantage because of the momentum swing a scoop and score can be) but instead were a massive advantage for Stanford. That’s luck. It’s not just yards per play that suggests Notre Dame “should” have won.

So its not luck when all the turnovers go against us?  Luck is always part of it, either way, so is how hard you play, and we played harder and to some extent "earned" those turnovers.