Notre Dame Has A Get Right Opportunity Against Stanford
By Bryan Driskell,
10 hours ago
Notre Dame was able to avoid this weekend's rash of upsets due to the Irish being at home, enjoying a bye week. Coming out of the bye, Notre Dame takes on one of its rivals, the Stanford Cardinal (2-3). The 11th-ranked Irish have a chance to win a fourth straight game, which would tie the second longest win streak under head coach Marcus Freeman .
The Cardinal are struggling, having lost two straight games since its big road win over Syracuse (4-1). Notre Dame won't be the only banged up team in this game either, as the Cardinal are limping into this matchup after three straight tough games.
For Notre Dame, this matchup against Stanford is a great opportunity for a get right game. If you look at areas where the Notre Dame team has struggled, or at least been inconsistent, they are areas where Stanford struggles this season.
For example, the Stanford pass defense ranks among the nation's worst, which gives the Irish offense a chance to finally get on track. In other areas, Stanford presents a good test in areas where Notre Dame wants to get better, like the improve Stanford ground game, which has two talented freshman back and an athletic quarterback.
It's also an opportunity for Notre Dame to retake control over its rivalry against the Cardinal. Notre Dame holds a 23-14 all-time advantage over Stanford, but from 2009 to 2017 the series was dominated heavily by the Cardinal. Stanford beat Notre Dame three straight times from 2009-11, and then won three straight against from 2015-17. Notre Dame earned wins in 2012 and 2014, but both games required last second plays to earn victories.
Notre Dame had a chance to completely take the series back over after three straight blowout wins from 2018-21. Notre Dame won those games by 21 (38-17), 21 (45-24) and 31 (45-14). Notre Dame won last season's game by 33 (56-23).
Sandwiched in between those blowout wins was a shocking 16-14 upset in 2022 inside Notre Dame Stadium. That Cardinal team was just 1-4, with its only win coming over Colgate. This is a much better Stanford team than that one, so the Irish will need to be focused and play with fire in this contest.
If Notre Dame plays to its potential it will dominate this game, which will go a long way towards erasing the stink of that home loss the last time these teams played in Notre Dame Stadium. It will be a step towards Notre Dame proving that under Freeman the Irish can be locked in week after week and avoid the odd drop off games that have proved costly in the past. It doesn't erase the Northern Illinois loss, but it would be a big step towards proving that Notre Dame has learned its lesson from that game.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released in less than a month, and this is one of three games Notre Dame will play before that first rankings release. It's a chance for Notre Dame to make a statement to the committee by showing that it can - and will - dominate inferior opponents. The more Notre Dame does that the more the Northern Illinois loss will be viewed as a weird anomaly.
We hear every year how games in September don't matter as much, but if Notre Dame wants to keep that true about that loss to the Huskies, the Irish have to look like a much-improved team. They have taken steps in recent games, but this matchup against Stanford is a chance to emphatically show that to the committee. Stanford played Clemson just two weeks ago, and the Tigers recently jumped the Irish in the polls despite having the same record (4-1) and having zero wins over Top 25 teams. But Clemson has won convincingly against those inferior opponents, including a 40-14 home win over Stanford. Notre Dame now gets its chance to show it can dominate the Cardinal as well.
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