Notre Dame vs Stanford preview, predictions, betting odds, live stream info
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Stanford Cardinal
A potential College Football Playoff berth is on the line when the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the No. 9 Stanford Cardinal on Saturday night at Stanford Stadium.
Despite losing multiple starters due to injury over the course of the season, Notre Dame enters the final weekend of its regular season at 10-1 with a road loss at Clemson as its only defeat. The Fighting Irish are out of the playoff as the rankings currently stand, but could certainly move up to the top four with a win over the Cardinal.
Backup quarterback DeShone Kizer hasn’t missed a beat since taking over for the injured Malik Zaire in Notre Dame’s second game of the season. He’s formed a very dangerous connection with Will Fuller, who ranks as one of the most productive receivers in the nation with 1,009 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Stanford looked to be marching to the playoff before losing to Oregon two weeks ago. Still, the Cardinal are headed to the Pac-12 title game, and could still crack the top four with a win and some help elsewhere.
The strong Cardinal offense is led by Heisman candidate Christian McCaffrey, who set a Stanford record with 389 all-purpose yards last week against Cal. McCaffrey now has 2,807 all-purpose yards on the year and is on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season record.
Saturday’s contest begins at 7:30 PM eastern on Fox and can be streamed on the Fox Sports Go app. Further details for the game are below:
Date: Saturday, November 28, 2015
Start Time: 7:30 PM eastern
Location: Stanford, CA
Stadium: Stanford Stadium
TV Info: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: Notre Dame IMG Network, Cardinal Sports Network, Sirius XM 129
Ticket Information: For Stanford ticket information click here, for Notre Dame ticket information click here.
Keys to Victory
The Fighting Irish have been able to succeed all season with multiple starters out due to some backups stepping up in a major way. That will need to continue this week in Notre Dame’s toughest challenge since the Clemson game.
Running back C.J. Prosise has been the focal point of the Fighting Irish offense since taking over for the injured Tarean Folston in the first week of the season. However, Prosise suffered an ankle injury last Saturday against Boston College and is doubtful to play this weekend.
That means the Irish are going to need a big game out of freshman Josh Adams on the ground against a talented Stanford defense led by linebacker Blake Martinez. If Stanford forces Notre Dame to be one-dimensional, it will generate pressure on Kizer and force enough mistakes to win.
On the defensive side, the Fighting Irish will be without top cornerback KeiVarae Russell due to a broken leg. While Stanford’s offense runs through McCaffery, quarterback Kevin Hogan has been playing well enough this season to exploit Russell’s absence.
There’s plenty of talent at the skill positions for both teams, but the battle in the trenches will be the most intriguing and crucial matchup in this game. Both offensive lines have performed very well this season, but will be facing the toughest front seven of their respective seasons.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Stanford -4.5
Moneyline: Stanford -180, Notre Dame +160
O/U: 56
Both teams are 5-5 against the spread this season and have hit the under in seven of their 10 games. Stanford’s two losses this season came outright as a favorite.
Prediction
The two teams are very close to evenly matched, so this should be a close and exciting game throughout, if not one of the best games of the entire season.
Notre Dame’s big question is how much it can limit McCaffrey. While the Fighting Irish have a ton of talent in the front seven, their run defense has struggled in a few recent games, including giving up 214 rushing yards on 34 carries to Boston College.
McCaffrey can expect to enjoy the same success with the way Notre Dame is playing defensively right now and all the injuries it has to deal with. If McCaffrey can run for around 150 yards on Saturday, Stanford won’t have to do much through the air and will be able keep the ball away from the Notre Dame offense.
On the other side, it’s hard to see how the Fighting Irish will be able to generate much on the ground against the excellent run defense of the Cardinal. Stanford has not been great at rushing the passer this season, but that could change on Saturday if Kizer is forced to do everything himself.
An underrated part of Stanford’s season has been Hogan, who could provide the difference on Saturday. Notre Dame has had a remarkable season considering all the injuries, but losing Prosise and Russell is going to be too much to overcome against a very talented team.
Final Score: Stanford 27, Notre Dame 21.