Notre Dame vs. Stanford Preview: 5 Telling Stats of Cardinal Struggles

Stanford sits at 2-3 on the year as Notre Dame looks to hand it loss number four

Oct 5, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) throws the football against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the third quarter at Stanford Stadium. | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Notre Dame (4-1) hosts Stanford (2-3) on Saturday in South Bend and there is nothing more that the Cardinal would like to do than dash the College Football Playoff hopes of the Fighting Irish.

Stanford upset Notre Dame as a 16-point underdog its last trip to South Bend back in 2022 and would like to repeat the action.

The good news for Notre Dame regarding that is Stanford appears the part of a 2-3 team. Perhaps even more like a team that should be 1-4 instead.

Here are five Stanford stats to know before Notre Dame hosts the Cardinal on Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford: 4.3 Yards Per Play

Notre Dame's calling card has come on defense this season as the strength of the Fighting Irish certainly comes when it doesn't possess the ball. The offense Stanford brings to South Bend on Saturday averages just 18.5 points per game and has lacked explosivity. The Cardinal average just 4.3 yards per play offensively, ranking 125 of 134 FBS teams.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford: 3.6 Yards Per Carry Allowed

Stanford's defense isn't exactly elite either, but where the strength seems to lie is in the run defense. It'll be strength-on-strength in this department as the strength of Stanford's defense comes in stopping the run. Opponents have averaged just 3.2 yards per carry against the Cardinal this year, ranking them in the top-quarter of that stat nationally.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford: 8.6 Yards Per Play Allowed

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates scoring a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite the impressive rushing defense numbers, Stanford overall still has a relatively poor defense. The Cardinal allow 8.6 yards per play on average (111th), speaking to its inability to stop explosive plays. Can Notre Dame make the run work against what is statistically a strong run defense, or will we see Mike Denbrock have Riley Leonard come out throwing a bit more considering the weak pass defense it is facing (111th in yards per pass allowed).

Notre Dame vs. Stanford: 10% Quarterback Sack Percentage

Looking at the stat sheet in researching Stanford, perhaps the most telling to me is how poorly the Cardinal have protected their quarterbacks. Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson have combined to be sacked 15 times already in 2024, or on 10% of all Stanford dropbacks.

Get a lead, make Stanford have to throw, and get after the quarterback. I fully expect Al Golden's group to have a field day working off this.

Notre Dame vs. Stanford: 2.0 Giveaways Per Game

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates after an interception against the Louisville Cardinals in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame being able to establish pressure on the quarterback will result in a couple good things Saturday. Either it means sacks and hurries meaning Stanford is playing behind the sticks, which only makes things tougher on an already challenged offense, or the pressure adds up and Stanford's combination of quarterbacks throw interceptions.

They've thrown seven in 156 pass attempts this year (roughly one every 22 passes) and this is the best secondary Stanford will have seen to date.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

Sure, Notre Dame fans have memories of Stanford coming and spoiling Marcus Freeman's first home night game as head coach in 2022, but let me make this clear.

This is a bad Stanford football team.

I'm not a player or coach, it's not my job to not overlook an opponent. Stanford is 2-3 but could just as well be 1-4. This isn't a good football team and I expect things to go for Notre Dame like they did in bye weeks under Freeman last year when Pittsburgh and Wake Forest were on the receiving end of home thrashings off a bye week by the Fighting Irish.

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