Stanford Football: 5 reasons the Cardinal will defeat Notre Dame

4. K.J. Costello to JJ Arcega-Whiteside combination

Love can easily be considered the centerpiece of the Cardinal offense but Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello and wideout JJ Arcega-Whiteside shouldn’t be overlooked as one of the top pass-catching duos in the country.

Through three games, Costello has amassed 1,056 passing yards and ten touchdowns to just three interceptions. Arcega-Whiteside has proven to be a deep threat, hauling in seven of Costello’s touchdown passes while collecting 408 receiving yards on just 17 receptions. His big-play potential can be greater understood when taking into consideration that he averages 24 yards per catch.

The Costello-to-Arcega-Whiteside connection was first put on display in Stanford’s Week 1 matchup with  San Diego State when Arcega-Whiteside corraled in half the number of touchdown catches than receptions (three touchdown receptions to six total receptions). All of these catches came from Costello.

Notre Dame typically has a pretty solid defense but it has exposed its weaknesses, barely being able to survive in wins against Ball State and Vanderbilt. These teams don’t come anywhere close to the level of play that Stanford’s high-octane offense plays at.

Either way, the Cardinal have a two-pronged attack with Love on the ground and Costello/Arcega-Whiteside being able to be a threat through the air.