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Throughout this nine-game winning streak, Notre Dame's defense has successfully shut down every offense they've faced. They held Arkansas to 13 points, Boise State and NC State to seven, USC to 24, Boston College and Navy to 10, Pitt to 9 offensive points and Syracuse to seven. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his staff have gotten this defense up to 12th in the country in points allowed, 14th in the country in yards per play allowed, 9th in the country in yards per rush allowed and 1st in the nation in interceptions, and that's without recording a single interception against Miami. 

Tomorrow, they face an offense that has struggled mightily this season. Stanford ranks 124th in the country in points per game and total yards, 127th in total passing touchdowns, 133rd in rush yards per game and 134th in yards per rush. That being said, there are still three storylines, two key battles and one player to watch on Notre Dame's defense when they face off with Stanford's offense in the battle for the Legends Trophy. 

Three Biggest Storylines

1. Finish On A High Note – Like I said, this defense has been playing lights out of the last two months, but they have to finish on a high note. Football is about momentum, and I don't know if there's a unit in the country that has built more momentum in October and November than Notre Dame's defense. They have the opportunity to shut down their final opponent of the regular season in a rivalry game. Doing that will go a long way into carrying their momentum into the post season and allow them final tune some details in the month window between the end of the regular season and the first playoff game. 

2. Replacing Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa – Losing Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was an extremely tough blow to Notre Dame's defense and I'm not going to paint a picture that they're going to be just fine without him. Now, with that being said, this is a team, program and coaching staff that has experience with replacing impact talent. Last season they lost Ben Morrison, Rylie Mills and Boubacar Traore all before the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals; they lost Morrison and Traore before November. The linebacker room at Notre Dame is one of the deepest in the country, if not the deepest. Replacing Viliamu-Asa will be a collective effort and it starts on Saturday. 

3. Remaining Focused – Stanford doesn't rank inside of the top 60 in any offensive category this season. They rank outside of the top 100 in college football in most meaningful categories including points per game, yards per game, rushing yards per game, passing touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, sacks allowed and tackles for loss allowed. Notre Dame's defense has been utterly dominant in the last two months and they can't lose focus in their final regular season game against an inferior unit. Ash will have to keep this defense focused on the task at hand and continue their streak of dominance against the Cardinal. 

Two Key Battles

1. Linebackers and Safeties vs Sam Roush – Tight end Sam Roush is one of the nations leaders, amongst tight ends, in total receptions with 45. He will, without a doubt, be targeted quite a bit tomorrow night. Roush's best performances of the season have been against the better opponents on their schedule like Florida State, SMU and Pitt. The Irish linebackers and safeties will have to do their part in limiting his impact in the passing attack. Linebackers will have to get hands on him and reroute him on underneath routes and the safeties will have to tackle well in space and not let him over the top in the seam. Roush hasn't scored a touchdown in almost two months; that streak has to continue Saturday night. 

2. Boubacar Traore vs Kahlil House – Right tackle Khalil House has struggled in pass protection this season and will face Notre Dame's best edge rusher in Boubacar Traore. Traore, arguably, is the best pass rusher House will face this season. The 6-5, 305-pound right tackle has allowed 33 total pressures this season including 13 hits plus sacks on the quarterback. Traore is the team leader in total pressures, and hits plus sacks on the quarterback on a team that has 269 total pressures. Traore is another player the Notre Dame defense that will look to build momentum as they gear up for the post season. 

One Player To Watch: Linebacker #19 Madden Faraimo 

With Viliamu-Asa's injury, Notre Dame's defense will call upon freshman Madden Faraimo to fill some of the void left vacant by the standout sophomore. Faraimo has played meaningful snaps throughout the season. He broke up a pass in the first half against Purdue that led to an interceptions and has totaled 122 snaps this season. He's played in seven games this season and went over 20 snaps in three of them. The expectation isn't that Faraimo solely replaces the production of Viliamu-Asa or his exact spot in certain personnel groupings, but he will be relied in their final regular season game and throughout the post season. He's definitely a player to keep your eye on for Saturday. 

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