One unbeaten streak will conclude at four games as the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are squaring off against the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal. The matchup is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET and interested parties can tune in to the action on NBC.
Betting Preview: Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Cardinal approach this Saturday matchup as the dog here and are currently getting 6 points. The Cardinal are also receiving +185 moneyline odds while the Fighting Irish are -230. It appears that there should be some solid live betting scenarios for this matchup.
Early action has moved toward the Irish. This game’s line opened at -4.
Both of these teams have been profitable this year as the Cardinal have gained 3.0 units and the Fighting Irish are up 3.4 units.
The Cardinal have gone 4-0 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Fighting Irish are also 4-0 SU.
The Cardinal are looking to stay undefeated after a 38-31 win over Oregon last week where the defense allowed the Ducks to pass for 346 yards while rushing for 178 yards and three scores. Dillon Mitchell had a productive day for the Ducks in that one with 239 yards on 14 catches. On the offensive side, K.J. Costello completed 19 passes on 26 attempts for 327 yards and three touchdowns. Bryce Love (89 yards on 19 rush attempts, one TD) led the running attack in the win while Kaden Smith (six receptions, 95 yards) and JJ Arcega-Whiteside (four catches, 84 yards, two TDs) manned the receiving duties.
The Notre Dame Irish just earned a 56-27 win over Wake Forest. The team’s defense allowed the Demon Deacons to rush for 259 yards on 61 attempts, including three rush TDs. Cade Carney was a bright spot in the loss, recording 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts for Wake Forest. For Notre Dame, Ian Book completed 25-of-34 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns. Book (43 yards on 10 rush attempts, three TDs) spearheaded the ground game in the win as Alize Mack (six receptions, 61 yards) and Chris Finke (four catches, 41 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Stanford has run the ball on 49.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Notre Dame has a rush percentage of 60.5 percent. The Cardinal have produced 104.3 rush yards/game and have three touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Irish are logging 183.8 rush yards per game and have 12 total rushing TDs.
The Cardinal offensive scheme has averaged 264.0 yards through the air overall and has 10 passing scores so far. The Irish have put up 231.8 pass yards per contest and have four total pass TDs.
Defensively, Stanford has let opponents run for an average of 123.0 yards and pass for 233.8 yards per game. The Notre Dame defense has given up 223.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 145.0 yards per game on the ground. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Cardinal have given up an ANY/A of 4.24 to opposing QBs, while the Irish are allowing an ANY/A of 3.83.
Offensively, Costello is up to 842 passing yards on the year. He’s completed 67 percent of his 84 attempts with eight passing scores and only one interception. Costello’s got a sparkling 10.89 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 8.85 over the last two games.
Expect Costello to attack all areas of the Notre Dame secondary. Kaden Smith (49 receiving yards), JJ Arcega-Whiteside (372 yards, five TDs) and Osiris St. Brown (49 yards) have all been heavily involved recently.
Ian Book has managed to complete 25-of-34 passes for 325 yards, two TDs and zero INTs for Notre Dame. His ANY/A sits at 10.31 for the season and 10.37 over his past two outings.
We expect the Notre Dame offense to mix it up in this one. Tony Jones Jr. Jafar Armstrong and Alize Mack have combined to account for 490 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns as a trio over the last two outings.
These two schools faced off a year ago with the final outcome being a 38-20 win for Stanford.
Stanford Cardinal vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Free Prediction
SU Winner: Notre Dame, ATS Winner: Notre Dame
Team Betting Notes
- The Stanford defense has 13 sacks on the year while Notre Dame has eight.
- Notre Dame has lost one fumble this season while Stanford has yet to lose any.
- The Cardinal offense has registered four pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Fighting Irish have put up two such plays.
- The Stanford defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Notre Dame has given up one such play.
- The Stanford offense has created four rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Notre Dame has created seven such runs.
- The Cardinal defense has allowed seven rushing plays of 20+ yards, while the Fighting Irish have given up three such runs.
- Notre Dame was getting 6 points in its last outing and the O/U was 59.5. The over cashed and Notre Dame covered in that 56-27 triumph over Wake Forest.
- Over its last three contests, Notre Dame is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Stanford was the underdog by 3 points in its previous game and the O/U was 59. The over cashed and Stanford covered in the 38-31 win over Oregon.
- Stanford, as a team, has produced 4.26744186046512 yards per carry over its past three games and 3.6 over its last two.
- Notre Dame has averaged 4.7 yards per carry over its last three outings and 5.5 over its last two.
