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Notre Dame will look to win its 10th straight game tonight when they take on one of their West Coast Rivals, the Stanford Cardinal. The 9th-ranked Fighting Irish (9-2) are also looking to make one final big impression on the College Football Playoff committee, which it can do by winning yet another game in dominant fashion. 

Location: Stanford Stadium (Stanford, Calif.)
Time: 10:30 PM ET
Network: ESPN
Line: Notre Dame -32.5, O/U: 49.5

The Irish Breakdown staff has made our predictions for this important matchup:

BRYAN DRISKELL, OWNER

Prediction: Notre Dame 56, Stanford 7

Last week I wondered how focused Notre Dame would be going into a game against a clearly inferior opponent. Would the Irish players be mature enough to be locked in on playing their game, while knowing their opponent wasn't on their level? Well, the Irish answered that question in incredibly impression fashion, jumping out to a 35-0 first quarter lead and a 49-0 first half lead en route to a 70-7 victory. While I don't expect another 70-point performance, this Notre Dame team showed me it has grown to the point where it will be locked in no matter who they play. Notre Dame has outscored its last three opponents by a combined margin of 91-10 in the first half alone, and 156-32 overall. I expect more of that today against Stanford.

Notre Dame hasn't always come out fast against Stanford. In fact, the Irish have not led Stanford coming out of the first quarter since 2021. I expect that to change this season and I think the Irish shake off the Thanksgiving and travel rust quickly and jump all over the Cardinal. Stanford is a tough team and they are a sound football team, but they lack the talent and overall athleticism that Notre Dame possesses. This is especially true when it comes to the matchup of the Notre Dame defense against the Stanford offense. The Irish defense is playing lights out football and that should continue against the Cardinal.

One thing Stanford does well is stop the run, and I'm curious to see if the Notre Dame offensive line, which is still growing as a unit after losing two key starters in October, can dominate the Cardinal like they did the last four opponents with the ground game. Notre Dame will need a balanced attack, and getting Jeremiyah Love going for another big day would be huge for a number of reasons, but I also think Stanford will struggle to handle CJ Carr and the pass game. I think that is the unit that really dominates this matchup as the Irish cruise to another big win.

VINCE DEDARIO, FOOTBALL ANALYST

Prediction: Notre Dame 49, Stanford 3

This is Notre Dame's last game of the regular season and I think we can all agree that we are not worried about the moneyline here but the spread. The Irish know what is at stake here and Stanford will take the brunt of the faceless opponent mentality Saturday night. There will be a conscious effort to get Jeremiyah Love the four records he deserves in this game. He needs 132 yards and two scores. Take both of those on your FanDuel parlay because they are happening!

The defense has something to prove here after giving up a late score the past few weeks. They are hunting for the shutout. I think it is absolutely possible in this game. Stanford doesn't score a lot of points. They had their Super Bowl last week against Cal and got the win. We know. They know. The country knows. The only question that remains is how bad?

TREVOR TROWBRIDGE, STAFF WRITER

Prediction: Notre Dame 52, Stanford 7

Saturday night is Notre Dame's final opportunity to make a statement to the college football playoff committee before the final rankings come out in a few weeks. They have to continue looking like the dominant football team that they are and I think that continues against the 4-7 Stanford Cardinal. This defense has been playing wildly dominant football in the month of November and that will continue against one of the worst offenses they've faced all season. 

Stanford ranks 124th in scoring and yards per game, 133rd in rushing yards per game, 107 in passing touchdowns, 105th in interceptions thrown and 132nd in sacks allowed. Offensively, this game screams CJ Carr to me. The Cardinal have a bottom ranked pass defense in the country, and while Jeremiyah Love makes his final push to the Heisman Trophy, I think Carr and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock take advantage of this bad secondary. 

This game will look a lot like the Syracuse game. Not by the final margin of victory, nor do I think Notre Dame opens up the game with a pick six, punt block for a touchdown followed by another pick six. But I do think the level of dominance will remain the same. This game will be all Irish for 60 minutes. 

ANDREW MCDONOUGH, IB CONTRIBUTOR

Prediction: Notre Dame 56, Notre Dame 3

The Fighting Irish have one more chance to impress the College Football Playoff committee and ensure they steer clear of any chaos in the Big 12 or SEC, and if the past 2 weeks are any indication, Marcus Freeman will have this team ready to go, regardless of kickoff time. The Cardinal are a feisty team and will play hard under interim coach Frank Reich, but they don't have the athletes to hang with the Irish for four quarters. Stanford ranks second-to-last in the ACC in passing defense and scrimmage plays of 40+ yards allowed, and with the Cardinal loading the box to limit the fearsome Irish backfield, CJ Carr and the Notre Dame wide receivers will make up for the reps they lost against Syracuse by showcasing an explosive aerial attack. Like they did against Purdue, I'm expecting a downfield shot off heavy play action in the opening couple plays. 

Then, expect a heavy dose of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the second and third quarters to pull away from Stanford and punch Love's ticket to New York for the Heisman ceremony before handing the reins over to the young running backs in the fourth. 

On the other side of the ball, I'm not quite sure how Stanford is going to move the ball consistently against the Notre Dame defense. The Cardinal are last in the ACC in scoring offense and rank second-to-last in the conference (and 133rd in the country) in rushing offense. They aren't much better through the air either, and with the run game in check, Notre Dame's front seven will be able to tee off against a Cardinal offensive line that ranks 133rd in the nation allowing 3.6 sacks per game. 

With the Fighting Irish needing to send a message to the nation, I'm expecting this to be even more of a blowout and like Syracuse, a late scoring drive against the Irish backups is all the Cardinal will muster. 

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