Notre Dame is on an absolutely ridiculous 15-game winning streak, and every single one of those victories has been by double-digits. The Fighting Irish don’t appear to be slowing down at all. Army’s record of 21 straight from 1944 to 1946 is still out there, but seriously, the way this team is playing, who’s going to stop them? Stanford is trying to do the seemingly impossible on Saturday.
Stanford’s Got a New Coach, But the Problems Are Real
Look, Stanford is recharging right now under new head coach Tavita Pritchard. That’s the nice way to put it. The Cardinal have taken some ugly blowouts against Miami, Duke, and Wake Forest. They did manage a surprising 34-27 win over Georgia Tech, which is something, but that doesn’t exactly make you feel warm and fuzzy about their chances here. They’ve gotta find a way to get takeaways if they want any shot, because that’s something they actually do well. Stanford has snagged at least one takeaway in every game this season, even grabbing two in that win over Georgia Tech. But let’s be real, facing Notre Dame is a whole different beast. Since Marcus Freeman’s 2022 squad lost to Stanford 16-14, the Irish have dominated this series, winning three straight games by a combined score of 154-50. That’s not a typo. One hundred fifty-four to fifty. That should tell you everything you need to know about this matchup historically.
Why Notre Dame Keeps Dominating
Greatness can look boring sometimes, but man, it’s effective. Notre Dame is just so good and so methodical that it almost feels like a given they’ll roll out there, get brilliant play from quarterback CJ Carr, a killer day from their offensive line, and handle business with little drama. Even when things get a little tight, like last week in Chapel Hill against a Bill Belichick-coached North Carolina team, there’s no panic. They were up 21-20 late in the third quarter, then just hit the gas for 16 straight points, winning by 11. That’s how they do it. The Irish defense is absolutely suffocating too, sitting 14th in the nation and giving up only 158 yards per game. That’s a huge problem for Stanford, whose passing game only clicked for over 300 yards in their wins over Hawaii and Georgia Tech. And don’t even get me started on Stanford’s run game; it’s the fourth-worst ground attack in America, averaging just 88.8 yards per game. Oh, and Notre Dame hardly ever turns the ball over, with just one measly interception all year against Purdue. The Irish will end this after two drives.
This Saturday, October 10, 2026, the Irish are set to host Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium. Kickoff is 3:30 PM ET on NBC. After this, Notre Dame heads to BYU next week before getting some time off, then facing Navy and Miami on November 7. Stanford goes home for two games against Elon and NC State, then hits the road for three straight, including one up the road at Cal. The consensus line is Notre Dame -39.5, with an over/under of 54.5. The prediction? Notre Dame 49, Stanford 6.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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