Game Thread | No. 6 Notre Dame at Stanford

No. 6 Notre Dame (10-1) at Stanford (3-8) 

Stanford Stadium | 8:00 p.m. ET | FOX | Notre Dame -20.5 | O/U: 52.5

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Get In, Get Out

Palo Alto hasn’t been kind to the Irish under Brian Kelly, but Notre Dame dominated Stanford two years ago and wiped away the bad taste of 2015 and 2017. 

Stanford isn’t a good football team and this game doesn't have to be close. I'm not sure style points or game control mean too much this weekend as Notre Dame's playoff hopes are controlled elsewhere. 

Keys to victory? Give the rock to Kyren Williams and let him work. He’s 72 yards away from 1,000 yards and Williams getting going on the ground opens up the entire offense. 

Defensively, Notre Dame will need to hit the quarterback and keep hitting the quarterback. Stanford has gotten away from the ground and pound team, but the Irish also can't let the Cardinal run the ball as Oregon knows all about that. 

This comes down to Notre Dame. If the Irish are locked in and want it, Notre Dame will be able to name the score. If not, then we might see some Palo Alto drama once again. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams
Stanford has one of the worst run defenses in the country and is giving up 7.7 yards per carry in November. Welp, good luck to them stopping Williams. The tackle-breaker could go off with a monster performance.

Stanford OLB Gabe Reid
One of the lone bright spots on their defense, he doesn't have the sack numbers, but is one of the best in the country at generating pressure. He leads their team in tackles for loss.

Notre Dame DE Isaiah Foskey
Foskey first introduced himself to the college football world in Palo Alto two years ago when he blocked a punt and ignited a big win for the Irish. He's making his return as one of the top pass rushers in the country and Stanford has a right tackle that has struggled in pass protection.

Stanford TE Benjamin Yurosek
The only way Stanford wins this game is if their best plays take over. Yurosek has quietly been one of the better tight ends in the country and is someone Notre Dame will have to worry about all day. He's averaging over 15 yards per reception.

Notre Dame CB Clarence Lewis
Coming off possibly his best game of the season, Lewis is going to have to deal with several jump balls this week with Stanford always willing to put their receivers in 50/50 situations. 

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams:
"We struggled early on to gel together as a team," stated Williams. "I think later on in the season after Virginia Tech, we really took it to a different gear. You can see we play with a different mindset. 

"The defense hasn't let up a touchdown in three games. That's a different type of stat you don't see regularly. I feel like we're all playing complementary football. We're coming together to show the world who we are and what we do when we play football." 

Notre Dame CB TaRiq Bracy:
"My senior year being able to play at home, it's great. Back in high school, I would play in Palo Alto, so it's a full circle coming back. It's going to be great." 

Notre Dame DB Ramon Henderson:
"It's a big role to fill. I am playing behind an All-American, who is about to go 1st round. From that standpoint, I don't have a lot of room to mess up. I can't do stuff that is typically already fulfilled to the max with Kyle playing. I hold myself accountable every time I play and I'm trying to go 110 percent. I'm just trying to hold my 1 of 11 and make our team win." 

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
"Consistency and growth as a football team. Playing well at the end of the season. The balance of both offense and defense. Shutouts at the end of the season. Playing well should mean a lot in terms of the overall record. Winning 11 games, against Power 5 football teams across the board. At the end of the day, we're going to be right there at the end. You know how this is going to play out. We have to beat Stanford. It's not going to be played as that was a signature win.

"We think a lot of Stanford. We know their personnel.

"We lost that control when we lost to Cincinnati. But we've done everything else. We're going to have to do that when we play Stanford."

For Your Nerves