Notre Dame at Stanford Spread

Written by Jack Jones

The fourth-ranked Stanford Cardinal host the No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday in Week 13 college football action. After losing seven straight in this rivalry from 2002 to ‘08, the Cardinal have reeled off back-to-back wins over the Irish. That includes a 37-14 road victory last season as a 4-point favorite. Andrew Luck threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, and Stepfan Taylor ran for 108 yards to lead Stanford to victory.

According to the latest college football odds, Stanford is a 6.5-point favorite over Notre Dame.

Stanford

The Cardinal certainly wish they could have a redo against Oregon, because had they not lost to the Ducks, they would be in line to play for a national title. Now, they are going to need the Ducks to lose their final conference game just to have a chance to play for the Pac-12 championship. Stanford (10-1, 8-1 Pac-12) is still in line to make a BCS bowl game, which is quite an accomplishment. But this wasn’t what quarterback Andrew Luck envisioned when he came back for his junior season.

After their loss to Oregon, the Cardinal went on to host California last Saturday. They were fortunate to avoid a letdown, escaping with a 31-28 victory over the Golden Bears. Cal made a big rally, outscoring Stanford 15-3 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. The Cardinal racked up 406 total yards, including 257 passing and two touchdowns from Luck. Taylor was limited to just 46 rushing yards on 16 carries, but Luck was able to put his team on his shoulders as he does time and time again.

The Cardinal rank 10th in the nation in total offense (485.7 yards/game) and 23rd in total defense (333.1 yards/game). Their stop unit has taken a step back the last two weeks, though, giving up 387 yards to Oregon and 361 to Cal. Luck is completing 70.3 percent of his passes for 2,952 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Taylor has rushed for 1,035 yards and eight scores. Griff Whalen has 47 receptions for 652 yards and four touchdowns, while tight end Coby Fleener has converted his 28 catches into a team-high eight touchdown receptions.

Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish got off to a slow start this season, but they have really picked it up since building an 0-2 hole. Notre Dame (8-3) has won eight of nine since, with their only loss coming against an underrated USC team. This squad certainly had hopes of going to the BCS in head coach Brian Kelly’s second year on the job, but it appears those dreams have gone by the wayside. A win over a Top 10 team Saturday certainly wouldn’t hurt their cause.

Notre Dame is coming off a hard-fought 16-14 home victory over Boston College. This game was not expected to be close, but give credit to the Eagles for hanging tough. The Irish still outgained BC 417-250 for the game, but couldn’t turn that yardage into many points. Tommy Rees threw for 256 yards with an interception, and Cierre Wood rushed for 94 yards for Notre Dame. After the Eagles scored a touchdown with 1:57 to play, the Irish recovered an onside kick to seal the game.

Kelly-coached teams have now won 15 straight games in November, but that streak will certainly be in jeopardy Saturday. Notre Dame comes in ranked 32nd in the FBS in total offense (434.5 yards/game) and 27th in total defense (341.4 yards/game). Rees is completing 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,648 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Wood has rushed for a 1,001 yards and nine scores, while star receiver Malcolm Floyd has 87 grabs for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns.

Betting Trends

The Fighting Irish are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games as an underdog, including a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games as a road dog.

The Cardinal are 14-2-1 ATS in their last 17 games overall, and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games.

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