Preview: Stanford welcomes No. 9 Notre Dame to The Farm
On Saturday at 7:30 PM PT on ESPN, Stanford football will welcome No. 9 Notre Dame to The Farm with The Legends Trophy on the line. Stanford comes in at 4-7 overall and 3-5 in the ACC while Notre Dame comes in at 9-2 overall.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Cal 31-10 to reclaim The Axe. The Cardinal scored two defensive touchdowns while running back Micah Ford rushed for 150 yards and one touchdown.
RECAP: Angels in the Red Zone? Stanford throttles Cal to reclaim The Axe
On Notre Dame: The Irish are coming off a dominant 70-7 victory over Syracuse. After dropping their first two games of the season, they’ve won nine in a row and are gunning for a 10th win. Ranked No. 9 in the nation, they are in the driver’s seat to be a playoff team, but a loss tonight would cook their goose.
The Fighting Irish are led by junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who has rushed for 1306 yards and 17 touchdowns on 185 carries while also having 26 receptions for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He’s having a phenomenal season and squarely in the Heisman conversation.
Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has thrown for 2536 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions for a 169.8 passing efficiency rating, completing 66.9% of his passes. His favorite target is junior wide receiver Jordan Faison, who has 46 receptions for 572 yards and three touchdowns. Number two in receptions is grad transfer wide receiver Malachi Fields, who has 33 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns. While he hasn’t found the end zone, senior tight end Eli Raridon has been playing well with 30 receptions for 473 yards.
The leading tackler on defense is junior linebacker Drayk Bowen, who has 60 combined tackles (30 solo), 4.0 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks. As for sacks and tackles for loss, sophomore defensive lineman Boubacar Traore has 37 combined tackles (23 solo), 11.0 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. As for ball hawking, redshirt freshman safety Tae Johnson and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore both have four interceptions on the year while junior safety Luke Talich has three interceptions.
On special teams, the Irish have gone 5-9 on their field goals on the season (55.6%). They’ve also gone 56-60 on their extra points (93.3%), so they’ve had some struggles in that area. Erik Schmidt and Noah Burnette have gotten most of the kicking duties this season.
Sports-Reference: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Love. That simple. Stanford has an excellent run defense that should be up to the challenge. If they slow him down, maybe they make this interesting.
Secondly, Stanford needs to win the turnover battle. That made the difference last week against Cal. If that happens again, I like their chances of perhaps pulling off the win.
Third, Stanford needs Micah Ford or Cole Tabb to rush for 100+ yards. If as a team, they are able to rush for 150+ yards, that would be huge. Look for Ford to get the bulk of the carries, but don’t be surprised to see Tabb mix it up a bit.
Finally, Stanford needs to win the battle in the red zone. If Stanford’s red zone play can come up big, that would be massive. Notre Dame has been a little shaky with their field goals, so if Stanford can force them into some long field goals, that could make things interesting.
Prediction: Stanford is coming off a Big Game victory over Cal, Tavita Pritchard was hired as head coach, and there is tons of good vibes around the program right now. That said, Notre Dame is the easy pick here. 31-17 Irish.
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