Notre Dame Football: Playoff chances very much alive after win over Stanford

Despite only one win over a top 25 team in 2018, Notre Dame football took it to Stanford in their 38-17 win over the Cardinal.

The Irish met Stanford for the 21st time in as many seasons, feeding into a rivalry that has seen the latter take seven of the last nine. However, all bets were off as the No. 7 and 8 teams met with huge playoff implications.

Stanford has played spoiler to the Irish on multiple occasions over the course of head coach Brian Kelly’s tenure, providing much reason for concern. Most of those games have come in the month of November, with this contest being one of the earliest meetings between the two teams in series history.

Notre Dame and Stanford each entered the game undefeated. Although the Cardinal walked away with their first loss, these two squads both measured up well in the primetime event. The win was monumental for the Irish, who are only a few weeks removed from a series of one-score victories over less-than-impressive teams.

With a great game behind us, here are three takeaways from Notre Dame’s latest matchup with Stanford.