Notre Dame Heads To Stanford Full Of Confidence

Notre Dame has one game left to complete its 10-game CFP comeback

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, Irish fans have plenty to appreciate as Notre Dame enters the final regular-season game of the year. Notre Dame is riding a nine-game winning streak with a potential CFP berth awaiting if it can play well one more time, and the Irish have a bona fide Heisman contender in Jeremiyah Love, who is looking to put on one more show for the voters.

The reality of Notre Dame's CFP picture may become clearer, or more cloudy, as rivalry week unfolds. What I find interesting about this dynamic is that the Irish have the last game to be played of the regular season, with kickoff not taking place until 10:30 ET Saturday night.

Will any teams ranked higher than the Irish be upset, paving the way for a potential Irish home playoff game? Or will game results fall the other way, causing anxiety for Notre Dame fans regarding the final couple of at-large CFP bids at the bottom of the top 12? We don't know yet, but we will by the time the Irish kick off.

9️⃣ in the College Football Playoff Rankings #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/KKPEHjtK0W
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 26, 2025

Notre Dame knows what's on the CFP line vs Stanford

Since Notre Dame's early-season losses, the Irish have known they must win out to even have a chance at making the CFP field this year. Now, after a tough journey, the Irish are just one win away from pulling off a second miraculous CFP comeback in as many years.

Despite the late start in a mostly empty stadium, Notre Dame will be ready for this moment. These coaches and players know how close they are to accomplishing their goal, and I refuse to believe that at this point, a four-win Stanford team is going to prevent it from happening.

Notre Dame coaches have some decisions to make vs Stanford

While it's always a mistake to take any opponent lightly, there's a reason the Irish are over 30-point favorites against the Cardinal. If this game goes to plan, the Irish staff has some decisions to make.

With Jermemiyah Love just 132 yards from Notre Dame rushing history, does Mike Denbrock force the issue and force feed Love the ball in hopes of getting the record, or is it business as usual regarding the carry distribution?

In an ideal world, Love has a game that resembles his Syracuse performance, where he can load up on yards and touchdowns but on minimal carries. Aside from the Love dynamic, should the Irish get a big lead on Stanford, Marcus Freeman will have to decide how long to keep his starters in the game in hopes of impressing the CFP committee as much as possible without risking injury to key players in a blowout.

Notre Dame fans have plenty to be thankful for under the Marcus Freeman regime. This program has taken giant leaps forward regarding its standing in the sport under his tenure; the only thing left to do is win the national championship.