Notre Dame vs. Stanford: Latest Spread Info, BCS Impact and Predictions

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Stanford Cardinal will resume their rivalry on Saturday when Notre Dame takes a trip to the West Coast. 

Notre Dame leads the overall series 17-8, but Stanford has won the last two games. The last time the game was held in Stanford was 2009, when the Cardinal won 45-38.

Both teams come into the game ranked. Notre Dame enters the game 8-3, No. 22 in the BCS. Stanford's 10-1 record (8-1 in conference play) is good enough for a No. 6 ranking in the BCS.

 

Where: Stanford Stadium. Stanford, California.

When: Saturday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET

Watch: ABC

 

Spread: Stanford (-7), according to Sportbook.

While seven isn't a huge spread, I am going with Notre Dame here. This would be an upset, but not a massive one. I'll take the Fighting Irish with a seven-point cushion.

 

Over/Under: 58, according to Sportsbook.

Given the offensive weapons that both teams have (Andrew Luck for Stanford, Michael Floyd for Notre Dame), this one screams shootout. I like both teams to get over 30 points.

 

Key Injuries (Per USA Today)

Notre Dame S Eiler Hardy, TE Mike Ragone, T Tate Nichols, DE Kapron Lewis-Moore, C Braxton Cave, LB Steve Filer and RB Jonas Gray are out.

Notre Dame WR Daniel Smith and LS Jordon Cowart are questionable.

Notre Dame WR Theo Riddick is probable.

Stanford DB Wayne Lyons and LB Shane Skov are out.

 

BCS/Top 25 Poll Implications

A Notre Dame win would move them to 9-3. That would probably not be enough to get them into a BCS game, but it's possible. 

If Stanford wins, they will be an at-large team. Actually, if Oregon loses to Oregon State, Stanford will play for the Pac-12 Championship (regardless of what happens vs. Notre Dame). 

I don't see that happening, but an 11-1 record would easily be good enough for an at-large bid.

 

Keys to Notre Dame Win

Notre Dame is 8-3 right now, but could easily be 10-1 or even 11-0 if they cut down on bad plays. They turn the ball over at the wrong moments, commit bad penalties and allow big plays. Against a quarterback like Andrew Luck, a few big plays are going to happen, but the rest are mistakes that can't be made.

 

Keys to Stanford Win

In their tougher games, Andrew Luck has been a little mistake-prone. If he doesn't turn it over and they run well, Stanford has the edge. Similarly to Notre Dame shutting down Andrew Luck, Stanford won't shut down Michael Floyd, but he has to be contained.

 

Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Stanford 34

While they don't have a quarterback like Andrew Luck, Notre Dame is the more talented team. Luck has shown some vulnerability in recent weeks. 

I'll take the Fighting Irish in a shootout.