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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Stanford Cardinal. Check out our college football odds series for our Notre Dame Stanford prediction and pick. Find how to watch Notre Dame Stanford.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish did not do what they set out to do this season. They came close, but close doesn't really count for much in college football, a sport in which teams play just 12 regular-season games. Notre Dame had three really big games this season, against Ohio State, USC, and Clemson. It won only one of those three. The Irish also lost to Louisville to absorb a third defeat. At 8-3 through 11 games, Notre Dame is not only out of the College Football Playoff picture; the Irish have no path to a New Year's Six bowl game. They will not win 10 regular-season games, which is the expected standard in South Bend. Head coach Marcus Freeman is a good defensive coach, but his team was hamstrung this year by offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, who could not make the grade as the team's play-caller. Some will be critical of Freeman for making that move, but people close to the program will tell you this was less about Freeman and more about the administration refusing to pony up big money for a better offensive coordinator. Freeman didn't get the budgetary freedom to swing for the fences. He was constrained, and that's why Notre Dame didn't get a good offensive product.
Notre Dame closes its season on the Pac-12 Network, the first, last and only time the Irish will be on the network before the Pac-12 dies and splinters heading into 2024. Stanford has a really good recruiting class coming in for 2024 under coach Troy Taylor, but that recruiting class won't be able to do anything about this game on Saturday.
Here are the Notre Dame-Stanford College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Notre Dame-Stanford Odds
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: -25.5 (-115)
Stanford Cardinal: +25.5 (-105)
Over: 49.5 (-110)
Under: 49.5 (-110)
How To Watch Notre Dame vs Stanford
Time: 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Notre Dame Could Cover the Spread
The Stanford team Notre Dame faces in Week 13 is just not very strong or deep. Stanford needs a lot of reinforcements. Those reinforcements are coming on the recruiting trail, where Taylor and his staff have done a fantastic job of beginning to stock the cupboard. However, right now, the cupboard is still bare. Stanford will be better in 2024, but there's only so much the Cardinal can do in 2023. Notre Dame is not a great team, but if you look at 2023 results, the Irish have been very good at drilling bad teams. Notre Dame is able to blast bad teams by huge margins. Notre Dame has earned the benefit of the doubt in this particular realm of competition.
Why Stanford Could Cover the Spread
The Cardinal are excited about the future. They get to host Notre Dame. It's a very big game for all the players on the team. Stanford just needs one good half of ball to keep the score moderately close. The spread is huge. Notre Dame could win this game 42-17 and Stanford would cover the spread. 35-10? Stanford covers. 49-24? Stanford covers. There's a lot to work with here for the Trees on their home field.
Final Notre Dame-Stanford Prediction & Pick
The Irish do hammer bad teams. They will do so one more time. Take Notre Dame.
Final Notre Dame-Stanford Prediction & Pick: Notre Dame -25.5
