Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Irish will handle Vanderbilt in Week 3

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SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 08: Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the field before a game agaoinst the Ball State Cardinals at Notre Dame Stadium on September 8, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Ball State 24-16. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

4. Home-field advantage is key

South Bend isn’t the easiest place to play. Notre Dame has won seven straight games at home since losing to national runner-up Georgia by a single point. This team doesn’t often lose at home and that success on familiar turf will continue on Saturday.

Plus, the last road game Vanderbilt won in non-conference play was over a year ago versus Middle Tennessee. The Commodores did beat Tennessee in Knoxville to end the 2017 season, so winning on the road in any capacity isn’t impossible for this program, but it doesn’t come easy.

Moreover, the Commodores haven’t beaten a ranked team on the road since 2007 when they beat No. 6 South Carolina in a mid-October matchup. Over a decade since beating a ranked team away from home? Yeah, things aren’t looking good for this team despite having a solid quarterback.

Vanderbilt will play strong early on, but the crowd and the pressure will get to the Commodores late in the game as Notre Dame runs up the score and wins by at least two touchdowns.

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