Stanford-Notre Dame, USC-ASU, and Oregon Arizona Highlight Week 6 Vegas Pac 12 Predictions
Vegas Pac 12 Predictions Week 6
Game of the Week
No. 14 Stanford Cardinal at No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Line: Stanford by 2
This is an incredibly intriguing match-up. Both Stanford and Notre Dame are still looking to make it into the College Football Playoff despite a loss already in place on the Cardinal’s end. Still, a win in this game by either team would be a great launching pad through the rest of the season, especially when you’re talking about momentum. Both teams still have a lot of tough match-ups ahead, but this is a crucial one to keep their ultimate goals alive.
Stanford is back to playing Stanford football. At least it was last week against Washington. The Cardinal beat the Huskies 20-13 by playing tough defense, running the ball, and making smart passes. This time, it didn’t self-destruct. That’s going to be the key to beating Notre Dame. Stanford has clearly shown that it is great at making other teams play its game. Heck, it even did that against USC, but the Trojans managed to actually beat the Cardinal at their own game. That’s because Stanford made too many mistakes. David Shaw can’t let that happen to his team this game if they are to pull off the win against the Irish. This team is set up to stop the high-powered Irish offense, but it’s going to have to take advantage of opportunities itself as well.
The Irish, meanwhile, don’t look like they’ve missed a beat with the return of Everett Golson. Golson looks like a star and has that offense scoring 35 points a game. But with Stanford expected to keep that in check, a win for Notre Dame is going to come down to a crucial component that’s been a huge plus for the team all year: defense. Right now, the Irish are ranked No. 4 in the country in scoring defense, having only given up 11.5 points per game so far. That is the reason for this team’s Top 10 ranking, and it will have to be the reason for the team pulling out the victory Saturday. Notre Dame will want to try to score when it can on offense and force the Stanford offense to self-destruct as much as possible. Doing that will be enough for a victory.
Prediction
Expect a defensive struggle similar to what came about with USC-Stanford. These are two teams with good offenses but dominating defenses, and that is what is going to show Saturday. Stanford’s defense will show up in the bigger moments, and it will be enough for the Cardinal to pull out the victory. This team should definitely be undefeated right now, and it won’t self-destruct the way it did against USC, so the Cardinal will win a very close game in the fourth quarter. It will once again come down to a defensive stop.
Stanford: 21 Notre Dame: 17