Stanford @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 28, 2009 ) Notre Dame 38, Stanford 45

Undefeated Stanford heads to South Bend Saturday to play Notre Dame for the 25th time in their intersectional rivalry.

Last year Stanford beat the Irish 45-38 at Stanford Stadium when All-American running back Toby Gerhart scored the winning touchdown with less than a minute to play. Gerhart rushed for over 200 yards in the game.

Head Coach Jim Harbaugh has the Cardinal 3-0, ranked No. 17 in the country, and a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Andrew Luck. A redshirt sophomore, Luck has completed 45 of 70 passes for 10 touchdowns an interception. Luck threw for four scores in Stanford’s opening win over Sacramento State and four more last Saturday as Stanford crushed Wake Forest, 68-24. Against the Demon Deacons, Luck led Stanford to eight touchdowns on eight possessions.

Last fall, Luck threw for 2,575 yards and 13 touchdowns, the most ever for a Stanford freshman. He is already second on Stanford’s alltime list for pass efficiency. The 155 points the Cardinal have scored is the most in a season-opening three-game stretch for the team since 1923. Since going 1-11 before Harbaugh’s arrival in 2007, Stanford has gone 4-8, 5-7, and 8-5 the past three seasons.

Notre Dame, 1-2 under new coach Brian Kelly, has lost back-to-back heartbreakers to Michigan and Michigan State. Quarterback Dayne Crist shredded the Michigan State secondary for 369 yards and four touchdowns last week, although the Irish lost in overtime, 34-31. Through three games, Crist is completing 60 percent of his throws, with seven touchdowns. Armando Allen leads the Irish in rushing with 253 yards and All-American tight end candidate Kyle Rudolph is the leading receiver with 21 receptions.

Defensively, Notre Dame’s new 3-4 defense is giving up an average of 447 yards per game. Stanford, meanwhile, gave up 17 points to Sacramento State and 14 to Wake Forest, but shut out UCLA 35-0 at the Rose Bowl.

Notre Dame leads the alltime series 17-7.