CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 7 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
In a week full of surprises Notre Dame were perhaps glad to be sitting things out. As a number of the championship favourites took a loss, Notre Dame hopes of a playoff berth were boosted. Let’s take a look at how the Fighting Irish’s week shapes up as they face off against Stanford.
Looking Back at Last Week
It was a productive, if game-free week for Notre Dame as they rested weary legs and tried to nurse some of the long injury list back to something approaching full health. While Marcus Freeman and his team were, in the famous words of former HC, Charlie Weis, at ‘home eating cheeseburgers’, the 4-1 Irish jumped from #14 to tied for #11 in the AP poll. In doing so they jumped Missouri, Michigan, USC and LSU.
This sets ND up for a run at the playoffs with seven games remaining. ESPN’s FPI projects the Irish to have a better than 80% chance of winning each of their next six games, and a 51.3% chance to win the final regular season game out at USC. There’s a lot of football to be played and, unfortunately, perhaps more injuries to come before Thanksgiving.
If Notre Dame can head to the Coliseum armed with an 10-1 record, they could face a high-flying USC team also in contention for the playoffs themselves. Or they could come up against a travel-weary, beaten-down USC team with multiple losses, that is already looking ahead to 2025. That, as they say, is why we play the games. Starting with the Stanford Cardinal.
The Week Ahead
Stanford Cardinal (Notre Dame Stadium); 3.30pm EST; 8.30pm IST/BST
A fortnight after taking on the Cardinals of Louisville at home, it’s now the turn of the Stanford Cardinal to make the cross-country trek to northern Indiana. Troy Taylor’s 2-3 team come in on the back of two straight conference losses, at Clemson then against Virginia Tech. Worse, however, are the key injuries his team has suffered in recent weeks. In a rebuilding year, with the squad he inherited still lacking depth (and Stanford’s admissions criteria making transfers uniquely difficult), this could make an already difficult task virtually impossible.
Taylor excels at scheming up yards and that may be a necessity given the injuries, especially at QB. Ashton Daniels sprained his ankle late in the Clemson game and given his running threat, should he not be fully healthy, then Justin Lamson will likely start under centre. His strength is short yardage running and in the red zone; passing, not so much.
WR Elic Ayomanor is their main playmaker but will come up against the best pass defense he’ll face this season. And should center Levi Rogers, who left the Va Tech game in a boot and on crutches, be unable to play then it could be a long and not very fruitful afternoon.
Defensively, they have improved on last season and are better at stopping the run. They will likely blitz more than half the time but are still weaker defending the pass. Given Notre Dame’s relative strengths, it is safe to assume that DC, Bobby April III, will sell out to stop Leonard, Love and co. running, and trying to force Leonard to beat them with his arm.
From an Irish perspective, Mike Denbrock will surely want to see Leonard continue his development as a passer, and it would be helpful in the longer term this season if he could limit his QB power runs, but the running game is still the strength of the offense and ND will need Love and Price to make significant contributions.
Game Prediction
Notre Dame 34-10 Stanford
The last time a Marcus Freeman team dropped a September home game to MAC opposition, they followed that up in October with a home loss against a terrible Stanford team. I’d be surprised and very disappointed to see a repeat on Saturday.
Stanford’s inability to run the ball effectively will play into Notre Dame’s defensive strength. It should be a long afternoon for their offense, and a productive one for Riley Leonard’s arm and Jeremiyah Love’s legs. Marcus Freeman has an excellent record coming off bye weeks and the Irish should move fairly comfortably to 5-1.
Where to Watch
No coverage in the UK (Sky are showing the Red River Rivalry instead)
NBC (in the USA)
Playoff Picture
Defeats last week for Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Michigan and USC were all very helpful to the Notre Dame playoff cause, reducing the margin for error for each of these teams.
Week 7 sees some more important matchups of ranked teams. Ohio State travel to Eugene to take on Oregon, with one of them guaranteed their first loss. Ole Miss heads to LSU, where the two-loss loser may be holding on for dear life to their remaining playoff hopes. Meanwhile Irish fans will be cheering on Oklahoma against Texas, Florida against Tennessee and USC (!) at home to Penn State.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
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A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.