It’s always good to know that, as the saying goes, no matter how much things change, some things always stay the same. So, even if Stanford, a school on the Pacific Coast, now plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, it can maintain its rivalry with a school 2,300 miles away (which is closer than any other ACC team except Cal) thanks to a scheduling agreement Between Notre Dame and a conference she refuses to join!
College football in 2024, ladies and gentlemen. However, Stanford makes one of the many trips east to face No. 11 Notre Dame in what is always a big game, no matter the national stakes. However, it’s very important for Notre Dame to get a win here, as a home loss to Northern Illinois doesn’t leave you much margin for error when trying to keep your College Football Playoff hopes alive.
As for Stanford, things have been up and down this season. The Cardinal began life in the ACC with a win over Syracuse, but followed that up with back-to-back losses to Clemson and Virginia Tech, getting outscored 71-21 in the process. They will have to play much better football this weekend if they want to avoid a similar result.
How to watch the Notre Dame vs. Stanford game live
Date: Saturday 12 October | Time: 3:30 PM ET
Location: Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, Indiana
TV: NBC | Live Streaming: fubo (try free)
Notre Dame vs. Stanford: Need to know
Notre Dame has won 19 straight home games against ACC opponents: My mind still hasn’t fully settled that Stanford is now an ACC opponent, but it is, and that’s not good news for the Cardinal considering how ACC teams typically perform in South Bend. The Irish haven’t lost at home to an ACC team since falling to Virginia Tech during the 2016 season. However, they have lost two of their last three home games to Stanford! The Cardinals beat the Irish in 2016 and in their last meeting at Notre Dame Stadium in 2022.
Stanford has lost eight straight games on the road against ranked opponents: You don’t usually see teams perform well on the road against ranked teams, but you don’t see many eight-game losing streaks either. The Cardinal haven’t beaten a ranked team on the road since beating No. 14 USC 42-28 in 2021. Making matters worse, the eight losses since then haven’t exactly been competitive affairs. Stanford lost them by an average of 28.9 points per game.
Stanford must get QB Ashton Daniels back: Ashton Daniels suffered an injury late in Stanford’s loss to Clemson and missed last week’s game against Virginia Tech. He is expected to return for this game, which will help Stanford’s cause. Daniels’ dual-threat ability makes the Cardinals’ offense more difficult to defend, and they’ll likely need his legs to extend shots against the stout Irish defense.
Notre Dame vs. Stanford prediction, picks
I’ll take the Cardinals to cover the spread, but that’s not due to belief in Stanford as much as the style of play. Notre Dame’s offense relies heavily on the ground game, and quarterback Riley Leonard is the team’s leading tackler. It’s unlikely that Stanford will try to air it out against this Irish defense, so I don’t know that either team will be able to pull away from the other. At least not enough to cover 23.5 points. Pick: Stanford +23.5
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