It’s the last regular season game for No. 9 Notre Dame football, and the Irish will be taking on one of their oldest rivals on the road with a College Football Playoff (CFP) spot and the Legends Trophy on the line.
More: ‘Mindset’ is key for Notre Dame football in rare late-night kickoff
Advertisement
Facing Stanford (4-7) in California at 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday night, Notre Dame has to win its 10th-straight game to avoid a third loss, which would knock the Irish out of CFP contention. Luckily, Notre Dame is a 32.5-point favorite and has won five of its last six games against the Cardinal.
Here’s how the Irish can beat their rival for the third year in a row:
More: Notre Dame football vs. Stanford, how and when to watch, early odds
Take advantage of the poultry Cardinal offense
Stanford got its biggest win of the 2025 season with a 31-10 over its in-state rival Cal last week, and the Cardinal’s point total was their highest of the year. In 11 games this season, Stanford’s offense averages 18.73 points per game.
Advertisement
On the other hand, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed an average of 13.7 points per game during its current nine-game winning streak. The Irish’s defense and special teams scored the first 21 points of the game in last week’s 70-7 win against Syracuse.
More: Notre Dame football ties school record in first quarter vs Syracuse
The best part of Notre Dame’s surging defense has been the secondary, which has an FBS-high 20 interceptions on the season. That should play into the Irish’s favor against a Stanford passing offense that has had its passes intercepted 11 times in as many games.
It’s not like the Cardinal rushing offense poses much of a threat either, with its 928 yards on the ground, which is not even half as many as Notre Dame’s 2,254, and it’s almost 400 shy of Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiyah Love’s 1,306 yards.
Advertisement
CJ Carr shows his No. 1 potential in front of Andrew Luck
No matter how good the Irish’s rushing game is, Notre Dame should try to heat up redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr ahead of a likely CFP appearance. Carr has been excellent in his first season as the Irish’s starting quarterback, throwing for 2,536 yards and 22 touchdowns with just six interceptions on a 66.9% completion percentage.
However, in last week’s 63-point win against the Orange, Carr only attempted nine passes. The simple fact is that he didn’t need to take many chances, and the reality is that he might not need to Saturday against Stanford either.
More: Like Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame football is ‘dangerous’ | Analysis
Advertisement
That shouldn’t stop the Notre Dame offensive minds from drawing up more plays than usual for Carr in hopes of slowly ramping up his workload before he’ll certainly need to be depended on if the Irish want to make another deep CFP run.
Maybe he can impress the Cardinal Football General Manager and 2012 No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Andrew Luck in the process.
Make a statement as one last CFP resume booster
Let’s make this one short and sweet. If Notre Dame loses to Stanford this Saturday, it would be one of the biggest upsets of the 2025 college football season.
Since dropping back-to-back games against No. 13 Miami (FL) and No. 3 Texas A&M to start the season, the Irish have looked like one of the best teams in the country, period. The only Achilles heel has been the kicking game, both on extra points and field goals, but that hasn’t mattered due to Notre Dame’s incredible 391-123 combined margin of victory (268 point differential) over the past nine games.
Advertisement
More: Notre Dame football makes this one a laugher against Syracuse
The Irish’s trip to Stanford will be their last chance to prove why they deserve a spot in the CFP, and they should have no trouble doing so in convincing fashion. Don’t blow it.
South Bend Tribune staff predictions for Notre Dame vs. Stanford football
Mike Berardino, Notre Dame football beat reporter: No. 9 Notre Dame 35, Stanford 13: Only so much a Captain Andrew Luck bobblehead can do.
Tom Noie, columnist: No. 9 Notre Dame 49, Stanford 17: It may not be as easy or look as silly as the home finale against Syracuse (70-7), but Notre Dame will have little trouble rolling out a 10th straight win by at least 10 points to close out the regular season.
Advertisement
More: Processing the loss of Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa for Notre Dame football
Kyle Smedley, sports reporter: No. 9 Notre Dame 42, Stanford 10: The Irish finish their regular season winners of 10 straight games, all victories of 10 points or more. People who still think Notre Dame is over-ranked are unserious.
Austin Hough, sports content coach: No. 9 Notre Dame 45, Stanford 3: The Cardinal were able to get their rival school to fire their coach last week. They won’t have similar success this week. Irish roll into the CFP, barring chaos around them.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email atksmedley@gannett.com or follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Here’s how No. 9 Notre Dame football can beat Stanford Saturday
