Now off to its best start in a decade 5-0 Notre Dame will look to stay perfect when it hosts 4-1 Stanford Saturday afternoon in South Bend (3:30 pm ET, NBC).
The Irish, coming off a 41-3 mauling of Miami-Fla., were early 7-point favorites over the Cardinal. Stanford is 1-5 SU in its past six road games vs the irish.
View Stanford vs Notre Dame Odds and Stats.
Betting Line: Oddsmakers at Sportsbook opened the Fighting Irish as 7-point favorites in the matchup, while the betting total was near 44 at Sportsbook as of Friday.
Power Rankings / Prediction: The game pits the Fighting Irish, currently No. 4 in our OddsShark NCAAF Power Rankings, against the Cardinal, who rate No. 62 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and handicapping models run on this game predict a 44-32 victory for the Fighting Irish.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Notre Dame's No. 62-ranked offense (28.8 PPG) against a Cardinal defense that ranks No. 42 at 21.8 PPG. The Fighting Irish passing attack has averaged 211 yards per game, less than the Cardinal give up through the air (299.4 YPG on average).
Defensively, the Cardinal feature the league's No. 39-rated road run defense, allowing 136 yards per game. Notre Dame, meanwhile, ranks No. 70 in rushing offense at home.
Stanford was a 54-48 Sportsbook in its last match at home against Arizona. They failed to cover the 10-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 102 sent OVER bettors to the payout window. Josh Nunes's 360-yard performance through the air was enough last time out, as Stanford earned a 54-48 win over Arizona on Saturday at Stanford Stadium.
Last time out for Notre Dame, they were a 41-3 Sportsbook as they battled Miami at home. Notre Dame covered in the match as a 16.5-point favorite, while 44 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors. Miami was unable to contain George Atkinson in its last action Saturday and the result was a 41-3 Week 6 loss against the Fighting Irish.
Stanford Cardinal Trends:
When playing in October are 9-1
When playing on grass are 8-2
When playing outside the conference are 9-1
Before playing California are 3-7
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Trends:
When playing in October are 7-3
When playing on grass are 8-2
After outgaining opponent are 9-1
When playing outside the conference are 7-3
A few Cardinal at Fighting Irish trends to consider:
Stanford is 22-3 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Stanford's last 6 games when playing on the road against Notre Dame
Stanford is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Stanford's last 7 games on the road
Notre Dame is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Notre Dame is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Notre Dame's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Notre Dame's last 6 games at home
Next up:
Stanford at California, Saturday, October 20
Notre Dame home to BYU, Saturday, October 20
