Stanford vs. Notre Dame Preview
The Stanford Cardinal may have already locked up a spot in the Pac-12 title game, but there’s no doubt they’d love to exact revenge on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to finish their 2013 campaign strong.
Last year, the Cardinal literally came within inches of knocking the Irish out of BCS title contention on a fourth-down goal line run in overtime that was ruled just short of the end zone. Some at Stanford still dispute the call – which was upheld by a video review – but this year, the Cardinal have a chance to win their rivalry game in clear-cut fashion against the lower-ranked Irish.
Today, No. 8Â Stanford is a two-touchdown favorite against its old non-conference foe, which is already 2-0 against Pac-12 teams this season. However, the Irish have only won two of their last 11 games against top-10 teams and have dropped three of their last four against the Cardinal.
“Both teams want to be the smartest, toughest football teams in the country,” said Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly earlier this week, according to ESPN.com. “Stanford right now is ranked eighth in the country. We are ranked 25th,” he said. “We get a chance to decide it on the football field and so last year we were able to get Stanford. Now we’ve got a chance to settle it again on Saturday.”
The rivals have certainly engaged in some hard-fought battles in recent years and considering they match-up pretty evenly – statistically speaking – again this season, it’s likely today’s contest could turn into another barn burner. Both teams average around 400 yards of total offense per game and both defenses have allowed fewer than 23 points on average this season, so, one would expect that the Irish would at least be able to keep the score close enough to cover +14 today.
However, Stanford has presented opponents with an entirely different beast at home this season and has outrushed visitors by more than 800 yards on the year. The Cardinal also currently own the second-longest home winning-streak in the nation, having won 15 in a row at Stanford Stadium dating back to last year.
Still, it’s easy to imagine this game turning into another grind-it-out slugfest. Stanford has only blown out a few opponents this year, so it’s safe to say a strong team like Notre Dame should be able to hold its own. Look for the Irish to cover +14 points today, but don’t be surprised if Stanford pulls out the win at home.
