Stanford Cardinal take on Notre Dame Fighting Irish in NCAA football Oct. 4
By Ian Palmer
Stanford Cardinal have a tough task ahead of them this Saturday October 4 when they take on the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium in Indiana. Notre Dame has waltzed through their first four games of the 2014 season, but they’ll be facing the nation’s top defensive squad in Stanford. The Cardinal come into the game with a 3-1 record after pulling out a close 20-13 win over the Washington Huskies last weekend.
bet365’s College Football Betting Line for Stanford vs Notre Dame:
- Point Spread: Stanford -2.0 10/11 (1.90), Notre Dame +2.0 10/11 (1.90)
- Money Line: Stanford 4/5 (1.80), Notre Dame 21/20 (2.05)
- Over Under: 44.0 points 10/11 (1.90)
The Stanford defense was in fine form against the Huskies as they limited them to just 2.6 yards a play for a grand total of 179 yards. Freshman Peter Kalambayi had a game to remember with three sacks on Huskies quarterback Cyler Miles. Stanford managed four sacks in total as they held the Huskies to 98 yards in the air. It was the Huskies lowest total since gaining just 88 yards in the sir back in 2010, ironically against Stanford.
The game was still close though as Stanford didn’t win it until the last quarter when quarterback Kevin Hogan scored the winning touchdown on a five-yard run. In fact it was too close for comfort for head coach David Shaw and he definitely wasn’t happy with his team’s offensive output. Shaw said his offense has been sloppy so far this season and he wants to see an improvement starting with the visit to Notre Dame.
Hogan went 17 for 26 in passing against the Huskies and had an interception and a touchdown to go along with his 178 passing yards. The squad’s total offense was 364 yards and so far they’ve been averaging 413 a contest. Stanford’s averaging 27.5 points a game, which ranks them 81st in the nation. It’s going to be difficult to score against Notre Dame as they allow 11.5 points against on average this campaign, which ranks fourth in the FBS. In addition, Notre Dame’s allowed 356,6 yards against per outing which is 22nd best in the country
Stanford turned the ball over three times in their win over the Huskies and they’ve already reached nine turnovers in the young season. They’re a good road team though and in their past 10 away games the team’s boasting an 8-2 record.
The Fighting Irish are coming off of a 31-15 win over the Syracuse Orangemen last Saturday to push them to 4-0. Quarterback Everett Golson went 32 for 39 in passing and racked up a career-high four touchdowns and 362 yards. He was also picked off twice and set a new school record in the game by completing 25 consecutive passes. Golson now has a career record of 14-1 for a winning percentage of 93.3, which ranks him as number one in Notre Dame history for a quarterback who’s started at least 15 games. The old record was held by John Lujack as he went 20-1-1 between 1943 and 1947 for a 93.2 winning percentage. Golson has a tough job on his hands though as Stanford has allowed their opponents just 6.5 points a game this season, the best in the country.
Notre Dame will need another big game out of wide receiver William Fuller to be successful. Fuller had a pair of touchdowns, 119 yards and caught half a dozen passes against Syracuse. He’s up against a defense that has allowed just 74 yards against them per game in the air this season, which is another national best. If Notre Dame can’t find room too pass they’ll need to run, but they’ve managed just 158 yards a game on the ground so far. Notre Dame has won four of the last five encounters at home against Stanford, but they could fall to 4-2 on Saturday.