SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis saw the youth movement coming.

Unleashing and/or developing rising stars such as wide receiver Michael Floyd, tight end Kyle Rudolph, defensive linemen Ethan Johnson and Darius Fleming, and cornerback Robert Blanton was only part of the equation.

Maybe the easier part.

Maintaining team chemistry with a team bottom-heavy in young talent may be Weis’ most overlooked coaching achievement of the first third of the season.

It started in the offseason, when most of the freshmen first arrived and were assigned a big brother of sorts.

"At some places, there’s freshman hazing and things like that," Weis said. "But here the older kids take the younger kids under their wing. Whoever (among the freshmen) is playing, it’s because the older kids are helping them to develop."

Heading into Saturday’s matchup between the Irish (3-1) and Stanford (3-2) at Notre Dame Stadium, wide receiver Michael Floyd remains at the head of the freshman class. He is Notre Dame's second-leading receiver (behind sophomore Golden Tate) and sixth among freshmen in the FBS with 16 receptions (4.0 per game) for 218 yards.

To put that in perspective, at Floyd's current pace he would finish with 48 receptions this season. That's more than ND's No. 1 and 2 all-time leading receivers (Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight) and its most recent Heisman Trophy winner (Tim Brown) amassed in their respective freshman seasons combined (44).

Growth without many growing pains continues to be a key to a possible Irish resurgence on the national scene. Here, though, are the five keys to them surging past Stanford for a seventh straight time:

Backward thinking
Dare a Stanford quarterback to pass? You betcha. Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh has elevated Stanford to the nation’s 48th-best rushing team in his second year in Palo Alto, Calif. To properly frame that, consider the Cardinal ranked in the bottom 10 of the nation’s 119-school FBS rushing stats each of the four seasons that preceded Harbaugh’s hiring.

What Stanford doesn’t do often or well is this season, though, is throw the ball, a strange phenomenon for a school with such a lineage of elite passers (not to mention having a former elite Michigan quarterback as its head coach). Junior Tavita Pritchard is a mortal 85th in passing efficiency.

So look for the Irish to try to overcommit to the run and take their chances with their outstanding cornerbacks and star free safety David Bruton against the Cardinal passing game.

Change speeds
The Irish offense works best when offensive coordinator Michael Haywood thinks like a baseball pitcher -- throwing a few change-ups and some curves at a defense. Last Saturday against Purdue, the Irish loosened up the Boilermaker defense with a spread formation and hurry-up offense.

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From one quarter to the next, Notre Dame showed the range of both its playbook and its play-caller.

The tempo change is even more critical against a Stanford team that not only likes to bring pressure, they’re good at it.

Kick the habit
Weis will be tempted to go for the first down instead of a long field goal early in the game, given sophomore placekicker Brandon Walker’s inaccuracy (1-for-5 this season, 7-for-17 in his career). Weis went for the first down 35 times on fourth down last year -- the highest total in the FBS in 2007.

But the Irish converted barely 50 percent of the time and Weis is likely going to need Walker to make a kick to win a game sometime this season.

He did make a 41-yarder late in the Purdue game, and length has not been a problem. If nothing else, Stanford has brought good luck to opposing kickers, who have missed just one of seven against the Cardinal.

Finish strong
Notre Dame’s best quarter is Stanford’s worst -- the fourth. The Irish have outscored opponents 31-10 in the final period. The Cardinal have been outscored 39-31.

Part of the Irish being strong at the finish is due to ND defensive coordinator Corwin Brown rotating in so many players on defense. Notre Dame’s depth is taking the Irish to great heights.

California Dreamin’
Californian Jimmy Clausen, ND’s sophomore quarterback, is unbeaten when starting against California schools -- 2-0. And that might not sound like much, but given that ND only won three games last season (UCLA, Stanford and non-California school Duke), that is an accomplishment. (Clausen did not play against USC last season as he was recovering from multiple injuries).

He’ll have a little extra incentive Saturday. Cardinal free safety Sean Wiser is a former high school teammate of Clausen’s and still one of his best friends. And there is no coincidence that Clausen’s best day as a passer last Saturday is what opened up the Irish running game to mash for 201 yards against Purdue.

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