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Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Irish will beat Stanford in Week 13

By Connor Muldowney

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 18: (L-R) Jonathan Bonner #55, Jay Hayes #93 and Jerry Tillery #99 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a defensive stop on 4th down against the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium on November 18, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Navy 24-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 18: (L-R) Jonathan Bonner #55, Jay Hayes #93 and Jerry Tillery #99 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a defensive stop on 4th down against the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium on November 18, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Navy 24-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal stands with his team during a time out of their game against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 18: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal stands with his team during a time out of their game against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

3. Stanford will get caught looking ahead to the Pac-12 title game

No, the Pac-12 North hasn’t been decided yet, but the Stanford Cardinal are a Washington State loss in the Apple Cup away from being crowned division champs and earning a trip to the conference title game against USC.

Scoreboard watching will be dangerous for the Cardinal on Saturday night as they kick off at the same time as Washington vs. Washington State. If they’re paying too close of attention to that game and a potential Pac-12 North title, the Notre Dame game might fall on the back-burner.

I know that seems crazy to think that a team would completely lose focus because of scoreboard watching, but this Notre Dame contest has little bearing on the outcome of their season compared to the Washington vs. Washington State game.

Looking ahead might cost them here, especially since losing to Notre Dame won’t ruin any bowl hopes as they’re already eligible and doesn’t count against a conference record. I think David Shaw will have his guys focused to start, but once that score is muttered around the stadium, it could be bad news for the Cardinal.

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