Notre Dame vs Stanford Odds, Pick: Bet This Team Total

Let's take a look at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Stanford Cardinal odds and make a pick for Saturday's college football game.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford is one of college football’s oldest rivalries, dating back to 1925.

So, it only feels appropriate that we get to bid farewell to (in the regular season) Sam Hartman, who feels like he’s been playing just as long.

The Irish (8-3) may not have any postseason accolades left to fight for, but a win here and in a bowl game would give Marcus Freeman his first 10-win season in just his second full year as the Notre Dame head coach.

Troy Taylor’s first season at Stanford can't end soon enough. However, the Cardinal are no strangers to upsetting Freeman and the Irish.

Just last season, Stanford knocked off the Irish 16-14 in South Bend as 16.5-point underdogs.

The spread is even bigger this time, but do the Cardinal have it in them again to upset Notre Dame?

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Please sit back and appreciate one of college football’s elder statesmen playing his final days of college ball as he looks to move up the record boards against a bad passing defense.

Hartman threw four touchdowns last week against his old Wake Forest team to move to fourth all-time in college football history with 132 passing touchdowns. The former Demon Deacon needs three more at Stanford to surpass Graham Harrell for third all-time.

Hartman’s four-touchdown, 277-yard performance was one of his best of the season for a Notre Dame offense that has made a living on explosive passing plays. Hartman’s 44 pass plays of at least 20 yards are the 13th most in the country.

A big reason for Hartman’s success at Notre Dame (and why his raw numbers have dipped from his Wake Forest days) is that he doesn’t have to shoulder the total weight of the offense.

Irish running back Audric Estime is one of 17 players in the country averaging over 100 yards rushing per game, and he’s doing so at an efficient clip. Only four other players in the 100-yard club average fewer rush attempts per game than Estime (16.8).

Notre Dame’s defense has been one of the most reliable units in the country. The Irish are sixth in total defense and seventh in scoring defense.

The Notre Dame defense has feasted on turnovers. 21 turnovers gained for the Irish are tied for the sixth most in the nation, and they’ve forced 13 turnovers in their last four games.

It’s been a slog for Taylor in his first season as the Stanford head coach, as the Cardinal find themselves in second-to-last place in the Pac-12.

The Stanford offense has been a bit of a mixed bag. At the end of October, it looked like the Cardinal had figured things out, recording over 1,000 combined yards against Washington and Colorado, but it’s since taken a step back.

Ashton Daniels’ play has dipped in the last three weeks, as the dual-threat quarterback is averaging just 167.7 yards passing in that stretch with a 52.4% completion rate.

The Cardinal run a balanced offense, but their run game hasn’t provided much help. Stanford’s 3.35 yards per carry is ranked 114th in the country.

Their defense has been an even bigger mess. Stanford is one of just two programs in the FBS allowing more than 300 yards passing per game, and it joins USC as the country’s only program to have surrendered at least 30 touchdowns through the air.

On a Success Rate Allowed basis, the Cardinal’s run defense is even worse than its pass. Stanford has allowed 277 and 161 yards rushing in its last two games, including allowing Oregon State to score six touchdowns on the ground.

Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Notre Dame and Stanford match up statistically:

Notre Dame Offense vs. Stanford Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	33	129
Line Yards	58	98
Pass Success	20	127
Havoc	26	133
Finishing Drives	15	133
Quality Drives	36	126

Stanford Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	79	18
Line Yards	129	18
Pass Success	115	6
Havoc	123	64
Finishing Drives	103	13
Quality Drives	83	10

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	63	55
PFF Coverage	7	130
Special Teams SP+	53	34
Middle 8	12	105
Seconds per Play	29.3 (109)	26.9 (67)
Rush Rate	53.2% (63)	49.9% (109)

Stanford managed to beat Notre Dame last season as three-score underdogs, but Hartman is just a little bit of an upgrade over Drew Pyne, not to mention the Stanford defense has gone from first to worst in the Pac-12.

I expect the Irish to go all-out in this game, attempting to get his three passing touchdowns for the record book. And even when they opt to play more conservatively, Audric Estime is one of the best running backs in the country.

Stanford isn’t a group of quitters, but I can imagine its players are looking to the 2024 season and want this year to end.

The Irish offense is finally clicking, averaging 43.5 points per game over its last four games, while Stanford has allowed 42 or more points in five of its last seven.

With no conference championship game to worry about next week either, I think Notre Dame will keep its foot on the gas.

Pick: Notre Dame Team Total Over 37.5