Notre Dame Football: Irish can prove Playoff worthiness against Stanford

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Notre Dame football against Wake Forest, but Stanford provides a much tougher test in Week 5.

The Stanford-Notre Dame rivalry began in 1925, but was picked up again in 1988, kicking off a stretch of 28 games over the course of 30 years. The Irish currently hold an 18-13 series lead over the Cardinal, but Stanford has taken seven of the last nine, playing spoiler in quite a few of those contests.

There’s a reason it has been Stanford who has played spoiler more so than any other team. Of those last nine games referenced, five of them have come late in November. Stanford has taken all five of those games, with Notre Dame’s only two wins coming in early October. This year’s meeting will mark only the second time that these two programs have faced off in September.

Kelly’s greatest flaws are typically on display over the course of the second half of the season, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares against Stanford early in the season. Here’s how to watch it all go down this weekend.

Date: Saturday, Sep. 29
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

Outside of Michigan, this Stanford defense is hands down the stingiest of all Notre Dame opponents. The Irish rushing attack has been strong up to this point, but it will likely take another convincing outing from quarterback Ian Book for Notre Dame to pull this one off. With a strong defense backing them up, a win is well within grabs should the Irish offense continue its success.

Stanford pretty much knows what it has in its defense to this point, but the offense has been somewhat of a question mark. Contrary to last season, it has been a strong passing attack that has led the Cardinal to a 4-0 start. However, Stanford will need to see more out of star running back Bryce Love if they want to pull off a win on the road.

Betting Odds

Odds provided by Odds Shark

Point Spread: Notre Dame -5.5
Over/Under: 52.5

Prediction

Home field will likely play somewhat of a role in the outcome of this game, as quarterbacks with under five career starts typically benefit greatly from home atmospheres. Look for the Notre Dame defense to hold up its end while Book helps eek out a victory against a defense that is much more formidable on the ground than through the air.

Final Score: Stanford 27, Notre Dame 33