Cardinal travels to South Bend to face No. 11 Fighting Irish to fight

On Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT on NBC, Stanford football faces No. 11 Notre Dame on the road in South Bend. Stanford is 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC, while Notre Dame is 4-1.

READ: Notre Dame's 10 Greatest Legends Trophy Appearances of the 21st Century

VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference: Notre Dame

Last time: Stanford dominated at home against Virginia Tech last week with a final score of 31-7.

REVIEW: Stanford is defeated by Virginia Tech

On Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are 4-1 and lost their second game of the season at home against Northern Illinois with a final score of 16-14. Since that loss, they have won three straight games, with wins over Purdue, Miami (OH) and No. 15 Louisville. They will now look to win their fourth straight game when Stanford comes to town.

The Irish are led by senior quarterback Riley Leonardwho posted a record of 82-126 for 750 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Leonard is even better with his legs as he has 374 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He is a true dual-threat quarterback and one who is very difficult to contain.

The Irish's top wide receiver is a senior Beau Collinswho has 17 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown. As far as running backs go, second year Jeremiyah love has 373 rushing yards and five touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Love also has 11 receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.

The Irish also have other weapons on the offensive. Sophomore wide receiver Jaden Bighouse has 13 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. There is a lot of depth on this team and guys that Stanford's defense needs to keep an eye on.

As for the Irish defense, a graduate linebacker Jack Kiser Has 25 total tackles (16 solo) to lead the team as a redshirt freshman and defensive lineman Boubacar Traore has a team-high five tackles for a loss. The most important ballhawk for the Irish is graduate student safety Xavier Watts who has two interceptions this season to lead the team.

As for special teams, kickers Mitch Jeter Has a 5-7 record on field goal kicks, missing one kick from 40-49 yards and one kick from more than 50 yards. He's 4-5 on shots from 40-49 yards, so overall he's been pretty good for them.

Key to the game: For Stanford, this game begins and ends with stopping the run. If Riley Leonard and Jeremiyah Love have good days with the ball, the Irish will win easily. If Stanford can stop the run, they could make things interesting.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is score points when they can and take care of the ball. If Stanford has to settle for some field goals early, that's much better than turning the ball over in the red zone. While Stanford will have to score touchdowns at some point, at Clemson we've seen firsthand what happens when they turn the ball over in the red zone. With Ashton Daniels Since he is expected to be the starting quarterback, he will need to put in a strong performance.

Ultimately, Stanford needs a great performance from wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. He is the best player on the team and someone who can hit home runs for them. If Stanford gets the best out of Ayomanor, this game could at least be fun. If not, they will have a hard time making this interesting.

Forecast: I don't think Stanford will win, but I see them making a valiant effort. Notre Dame 28-17 is my idea of ​​it. Stanford will play hard and let it play out for a while before Notre Dame pulls away.

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