Notre Dame vs. Stanford Prediction, Game Preview

If the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) want to make their case for a playoff berth, they’ll have to knock off the Stanford Cardinal (9-2) on the Farm Saturday night. Check out the Notre Dame vs. Stanford prediction and game preview.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford Prediction & Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, November 28
Game Time: 7:30 ET
Venue: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
Network: Fox

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Why You Need To Care

Now that Notre Dame has been leapfrogged in the College Football Playoff rankings, it has one final chance to make a statement to the committee. Better make good use of it, because time is running out.

The Irish have fallen behind Iowa and Michigan State in the standings, the byproduct of Hawkeye and Spartan wins and an ugly ND effort versus Boston College at Fenway Park. Yeah, the Irish survived in Week 12, but survival against 3-8 teams is akin to a loss at this time of year. And while Brian Kelly’s team has bagged some quality wins this fall, nothing will resonate more than defeating the Pac-12 favorite in its own building at the end of November.

Having already won the North Division, Stanford is waiting to see if it’ll face USC or UCLA next weekend in Santa Clara. This game would have had even more juice had the No. 9 Cardinal not fallen to Oregon two weeks ago to essentially drift out of playoff contention. Now, the program is resigned to playing CFP spoiler for the Irish, while building momentum before next week’s matchup to determine a Rose Bowl berth.

Why Notre Dame Will Win

The Irish might be the most resilient team in America.

Notre Dame has suffered crushing injury losses all year long, yet here it sits on the lip of the playoff cup. Kelly has done a brilliant job of preparing his kids, all of his kids, for this season’s challenges. And it’s helped to have line play that’ll match up well with the ultra-physical Cardinal. ND, like Stanford, is stout at the point of attack, led by C Nick Martin and LT Ronnie Stanley on offense and Sheldon Day and Isaac Rochell on D. And while the Cardinal is sound on defense, it’s also more vulnerable through the air than in recent years, which will create opportunities for QB DeShone Kizer to connect downfield with game-breaking WR Will Fuller.

Why Stanford Will Win

After spending the past month facing feeble offenses, Notre Dame will be in for a rather rude awakening.

True, the Irish have a solid D, part of which is attributable to facing a lot of subpar attacks, like BC and Wake Forest and Temple. The Cardinal will be a handful for ND. RB Christian McCaffrey will be an especially big handful for ND. McCaffrey is one of the most electrifying players in college football, a modern-day Reggie Bush, with the No. 5, versatility and Heisman-caliber resume to match the former Trojan. Plus, the Irish must play this game without their best cover corner, KeiVarae Russell, which means QB Kevin Hogan will strike if the box is stacked to slow McCaffrey. Hogan is a steady and accurate veteran, who’ll have success locating TE Austin Hooper in the middle of the field and WR Michael Rector once or twice behind the secondary.

Player Who Matters

If Notre Dame is to remain a one-loss team, it needs more from Kizer, especially in the red zone.

Irish RB C.J. Prosise is expected to sit with an ankle injury, elevating rookie Josh Adams into the feature role. While Adams has done some very nice things in a limited role, it’ll be up to Kizer to generate touchdowns instead of field goals when entering Stanford territory. The Irish are 77th nationally in red-zone touchdown efficiency, and last week produced just two touchdowns in seven attempts. Justin Yoon field goal tries won’t suffice this week against a veteran Stanford team eager to make its own national statement in primetime.

What’s Going To Happen?

Resilient? You bet. But the mounting Irish injuries are about to catch up to the team.

Kelly deserves strong Coach of the Year consideration for the way he’s captained the ship this year. But he and his ND squad will fall a little short in Northern California, as McCaffrey enhances his Heisman case. The sophomore will be the game’s MVP, combining with Hogan to give the Irish fits on defense. Kizer will have success against the Cardinal secondary, but more red-zone stalls will end playoff hopes, to the delight of the Big Ten and the Big 12.