There are very few guarantees in the game of football, but when it comes to the #6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish's season finale against the #11 Stanford Cardinal this week, we've found an exception to the rule. Here's 3 Reasons Why Notre Dame Will DESTROY Stanford On Saturday.
3. Reduced Effectiveness For Stanford's Biggest Weapon
Stanford Cardinal RB Christian McCaffrey has been an absolute beast in 2015, on pace to break Barry Sanders' record for most non-QB all-purpose yards in a regular season (3,250) However, he'll be without lead blocker Daniel Marx who is out for the season with a lower leg injury. The Cardinal will shuffle Chris Harrell and some of their tight ends into Marx's role, but people underestimate just how essential he is/was to McCaffrey finding space in the second level.
Expect Notre Dame to exploit this, pressuring McCaffrey's lead blockers while cutting him off at the point of attack.
2. Singular Focus
"I really don't care about the rankings right now," Notre Dame linebacker Joe Schmidt said. "All I care about is Stanford. Really, we could be one, seven, nine, 11 and it does not matter. We still have to play the game against Stanford."
Head coach Brian Kelly won't allow this squad to look past any opponent, let alone a Pac-12 power who has an outside shot at a College Football Playoff berth. For a team that has thrived in the clutch all season long, we'll willing to put money on a statement win by a hyperfocused squad.
1. There's No Other Way
If Notre Dame is going to get past conference and committee biases, leap-frogging teams like Oklahoma, Iowa and Michigan State, they need to put Stanford down in emphatic fashion. For a team who's been as resilient (injuries and otherwise) as any we've seen since the turn of the decade, Saturday presents a MASSIVE opportunity to showcase just why the Irish have survived almost any and all challenges thrown their way.
Remember this: Notre Dame's only loss was a two-point heartbreaker at #1 Clemson. You really think Stanford's going to scare this ND team? We expect fireworks, but they'll be set off by the road team.
Back to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Newsfeed