Notre Dame gets a lot of flack regarding the strength of their schedule, but the team is about to get their toughest challenge yet as they face off against the No. 14 Stanford Cardinals. Getting the Pac 12 team is a change of their other opponents who have a combined 7-11 record on the season. The Cardinals have a lot of success against Notre Dame and intend on using it.
The Fighting Irish got a 31-15 win over Syracuse last week, but turned the ball over five times in the process. Making those mistakes against a top defense like Stanford could be extremely costly for the team. That defense has made Notre Dame an underdog despite playing at home to Stanford. They are also ranked higher than the Cardinals right now.
The Notre Dame offense has looked strong, putting up 30 or more points in the opening four games. They also have not allowed more than 17 points in those matchups. Everrett Golson is looking strong at quarterback with 1142 yards and 11 touchdowns. He must remain mistake free as Stanford has a defense capable of causing plenty of turnovers on Saturday.
The Cardinals have the nation's top scoring defense getting 6.5 points per game. They are also allowing just 198 yards per game from their opponents. However, their offense has started the year slow behind Keven Hogan. They are scoring just 27.5 points per game while also having nine turnovers. They looked sloppy against Washington, getting into the 30 six times, but missing a field goal and fumbling the ball twice. Hogan had to put up a 5-yard touchdown run as time was expiring for the win.
Stanford will rely on their run game. Kelsey Young, Barry Sanders and Ricky Seale is averaging 165.5 yards per game which is not as high as last season, but still strong. The Irish will also do the same thing with their offense. Last season, the Cardinals bet Notre Dame 27-20 while a controversial play got them the win in 2012 as well.