Stanford @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 30, 2013 ) Notre Dame 20, Stanford 27

Notre Dame again finds itself in the top-10 nationally with some questions still to answer. The eighth-ranked Fighting Irish can quiet a lot of doubters by knocking off visiting No. 13 Stanford on Saturday. The Cardinal took a big hit to their playoff hopes with a loss to Southern Cal a few weeks ago but still look plenty motivated to get back into the race with back-to-back wins, including their first road victory last weekend at Washington.

Notre Dame’s decision to hand the quarterback job back to Everett Golson is paying huge dividends for an offense averaging 35 points and 285.5 passing yards. Golson will be getting his biggest test of the young season in Stanford, which has not allowed an opponent to score 30 points in any of its last 27 games and has beaten up on four teams with a combined record of 7-11. The Cardinal have won four of the last five in the series and enter with the nation’s leading defense, holding opponents to an average of 6.5 points while limiting opposing passers to just 74 yards.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Stanford -2

ABOUT STANFORD (3-1): The Cardinal defense has already pitched a pair of shutouts while allowing a total of 19 points, helping to make up for a mistake-prone offense that has yet to have a breakout game. Stanford turned the ball over three times in a 20-13 win at Washington, including a fumble that was returned for a touchdown to make the final score closer than it needed to be. “If we can stop turning the ball over, stop having penalties that take points off the board and stop missing field goals, we have a chance to be really good,” Cardinal coach David Shaw told reporters. “…Right now we are a semi-efficient, sloppy offense.”

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (4-0): The Fighting Irish are forcing an average of 2.5 turnovers, helping to put Golson and the offense in a position to succeed. Golson threw his first two interceptions of the season at Syracuse last week but made up for it with four TD passes and 362 yards in a 31-15 triumph, going 32-of-39 to mark the fourth straight game this season that he has completed over 62 percent of his pass attempts. The Irish totaled five turnovers in that Syracuse win but were helped out by a defense that is surrendering an average of 11.5 points.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The last time Stanford went without a rushing TD was at Notre Dame on Oct. 13, 2012, when Stepfan Taylor was stopped on fourth-and-goal to end the game in a 20-13 Irish overtime win.

2. Notre Dame is 15-1 in its last 16 home games.

3. The Cardinal have had 10 different players record at least one sack.

PREDICTION: Stanford 17, Notre Dame 14