Stanford at Notre Dame – College Football Predictions
The Game
Yes, guy.
A pair of storied and UNDEFEATED programs do battle Saturday night in South Bend when Stanford visits the Fighting Irish. The Cardinal needed a small bucket of miracles to take down the Ducks on the road last week whilst the Irish lit up Wake Forest like a Christmas tree. These teams have played some classics recently. Let’s hope for another one!
The Details
Notre Dame -5.5 Stanford (52.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Notre Dame -4
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Notre Dame 29 Stanford 23.5
The Match-Up:
Stanford offense vs Notre Dame defense
The Cardinal offense has been nice and balanced this season and they are a really tough team to defend for 60 minutes (and beyond). QB KJ Costello is completing 64% of his passes at an impressive 9.26 yards per attempt and has only thrown 3 INT in 114 attempts. Five players have 100+ yards receiving but the star of the show is JJ Arcega-Whiteside who has already hauled in 7 (!) TDs whilst averaging 24 yards per catch. The Notre Dame secondary is really good and they will be tested by the Stanford passing attack. Hey? We haven’t even mentioned star RB Bryce Love who has been relatively quiet this season (missed one game) but is capable of scoring from anywhere on the field. The Irish defense has been decent this season but will need to step things up a bit if they want to make a run to the playoff. They are ranked #65 in total defense, #62 vs the run, #102 in 3rd down defense and have only bagged 8 sacks. It’s hard to see the Irish shutting Stanford down and we expect the Cardinal to score 21+ and likely exceed their team total.
Notre Dame offense vs Stanford defense
The Irish made a change at QB last week to Ian Book and it paid immediate dividends as Notre Dame ripped Wake Forest apart by a score of 56-27. There is no doubt that the Irish made the right choice with the QB change BUT we need to remember that it was Wake Forest. The receiving corps still lacks a proven #1 (nobody has 200 yards receiving yet) and the committee of RBs is nice, but there is no “Josh Adams” lurking in the weeds as far as we can tell. It will help to have RB Dexter Williams in the mix again on Saturday. This is an Irish offense that can be very effective and balanced but it remains to be seen what kind of big play ability they can have against good teams. Stanford played good D to start the season (SD St, UC Davis, USC) but were exposed in the secondary by future #1 NFL DC Justin Herbert. The Cardinal have registered 13 sacks so far and will need to get pressure on Book and make him feel uncomfortable or else they risk giving up a lot of points. It will be an interesting chess match. Notre Dame also looks like a good bet to get near or over their team total.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
TREND GUY has a dilemma…..Stanford has won 7 of the last 9 meetings BUT the home team has won 8 of the last 10…..hmmmmm……Will be interesting to see how Stanford responds in a tough road spot after the epic comeback win over Oregon.
Summary
Wow. What a match-up. It’s great to see these teams get together and even better when there is a lot at stake. Notre Dame is looking to take their game to another level with the QB change and a schedule that may not be as spooky as it first appeared. Stanford has all of their goals in front of them and this is probably their toughest remaining game outside of the trip to Washington on November 3rd. Stanford is balanced enough to keep this one close, it’s just unfair to expect an “A” performance in this spot.
Conclusion
Official play: None
Side: Slight lean to Stanford. Would wait closer to game time if you so choose as the line will likely go up (or stay where it currently resides).
Total: Lean to the over.
Note:
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game. Nothing more. < but always stay tuned for updates >
‘Slight lean’ implies we are almost certain to avoid the game and/or total from a betting standpoint even for ‘small potatoes’. We give an opinion for those who need to get down and want advice.