Notre Dame Stadium – Notre Dame, IN
Kickoff: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Notre Dame -3.0, Total: 54.5

Notre Dame will be hoping to get a game closer to bowl eligibility with a home victory over Stanford on Saturday.

Stanford has had it rough the past two weeks, as the team lost 44-6 as a 3.5-point underdog against #5 Washington and followed that game up with a 42-16 loss as a seven-point home favorite versus Washington State. The Cardinal really struggled to run the football in both of those games, as they rushed for just 90 yards over those two contests. That is remarkably bad considering RB Christian McCaffrey (520 yards, 3 TD) is one of the best talents in the country. It’ll be even harder for Stanford to run against Notre Dame if McCaffrey is out, which is a possibility. While the Cardinal have struggled recently, the Fighting Irish have struggled since the opening kickoff of the season. Notre Dame had championship aspirations this season, but losses to unranked teams like Texas, Michigan State, Duke and NC State don’t even suggest that this Fighting Irish team deserves to play in a bowl game. It will, however, be amped up to play against Stanford on Saturday, as this is one of college football’s best rivalries. Stanford won 38-36 as a four-point favorite when the teams met last season, but Notre Dame has won each of its past two home games in this series. One trend worth pointing out is that the Cardinal are 26-13 ATS in road games versus good offensive teams that average 425 or more yards per game since 1992. As previously mentioned, McCaffrey (Rest) is banged up and could miss this game for Stanford. The Irish, meanwhile, could be without RB Tarean Folston (Ankle), who hasn’t looked like himself since returning from a knee injury he suffered last season.

If Christian McCaffrey can’t play on Saturday then this Stanford team is going to be in serious trouble. McCaffrey is the workhorse of all workhorses, and the Cardinal have little else in the skill position department. RB Bryce Love (108 yards) would likely receive a bulk of the carries if McCaffrey didn’t go. Love is a solid runner, but defenses will not change the way they play because of him. McCaffrey, meanwhile, requires an entire week of planning and his presence allows his teammates to work with more space all over the field. With that being said, QB Ryan Burns (768 yards, 5 TD, 3 INT) is going to need to be ready to make some plays on Saturday. If Stanford cannot run the ball the way the team usually likes to then head coach David Shaw may have no choice but to open up the passing game. That would mean that Burns would take more shots down the field to guys like WRs Trenton Irwin (16 rec, 200 yards) and Michael Rector (14 rec, 187 yards, 1 TD). For Stanford’s sake, that will hopefully not be the case. This team doesn’t have a ton of experience turning to the passing attack and things can get ugly if McCaffrey sits and the Cardinal fall to 3-3 on the year. Defensively, McCaffrey’s presence changes a lot as well. His ability to successfully run the ball means that the Stanford defense gets to stay off the field longer, and the Cardinal will need that with this matchup against Kizer and the Fighting Irish.

If Notre Dame is going to get back into the win column then QB DeShone Kizer (1,621 yards, 14 TD, 5 INT) must be on top of his game. Kizer is coming off of a rough outing against NC State, completing just nine of 26 passes for 54 yards, zero touchdowns and an interception. It’s hard to blame Kizer, though. Due to Hurricane Matthew, that game was pretty much played in a swimming pool with very intense winds. It was nearly impossible to throw and that is why the only touchdown of the game came on a blocked punt. This one should be a bit easier and Kizer is certainly familiar with this Stanford defense. When he met the team last season, Kizer threw for 234 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions. He also rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown in that game. He’ll be hoping for an even better performance this time around. Defensively, the status of McCaffrey is going to be huge in this one. If he plays then Notre Dame is going to have to find a way to stop the run, which is something the team has struggled with this season. If McCaffrey doesn’t go then it’s hard to imagine the Fighting Irish losing. Stanford is not a very good passing team and would lack the playmakers necessary to win a game like this.