Notre Dame at Stanford

This has become a big rivalry and with Notre Dame and Stanford both good again, it becomes even bigger. The Irish aren't as good as they were a year ago when they made it all the way to the Championship Game. Most of the impact has been on the defensive side of the ball where the Irish were fierce a year ago, holding 11 opponents to 17 points or less. This year they have allowed four opponents to get into the 30s. Stanford brings the big defense this season as they have held all their opponents to 28 or less in the high scoring Pac-12, and eight of those did not get past 20. The Cardinal are 36-17-1 ATS in their last 54, including 36-14-1 ATS following a win. And, Stanford has really feasted on bad passing defenses like Notre Dame's, going 13-2 ATS the past three seasons vs. teams that allow 58%+ completions. Since the arrival of David Shaw, this team is 10-1 ATS after scoring 42+ points last game. Make the play on Stanford in this one.