Notre Dame vs Stanford Prediction: Odds, expert picks, team and player news, betting trends, and stats

The #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-0) have blowout on their minds when they welcome the Stanford Cardinals (2-3) to South Bend. The Irish are fresh off a 37-26 win over North Carolina, which was the most points they allowed all season and the most narrow margin. On the other side, Stanford has its widest margin of the year, but in the worst way. Stanford lost 57-3 at Wake Forest and have now lost by 39, 28, and 54 points in its three losses.

Marcus Freeman and the Irish will be motivated to pitch a shutout or as close to it as possible against Stanford. Notre Dame allowed fewer than nine points and 200 yards per game entering last week and North Carolina posted 285 yards and 26 points. The Irish did hold the Tar Heels to 77 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry, plus Notre Dame won the turnover battle 2-0. CJ Carr tied his career-high of four touchdown passes and had a rush score for a career-high five scores. Carr completed 21-of-29 (72.4%) passes for 234 yards, two of which went to Jordan Faison (8 rec, 132 yards), while Jonaz Walton popped off as the leading rusher (23 carries, 120 yards).

Stanford has losses of 28 or more points against Miami, Duke, and Wake Forest so far this season. The Cardinals managed 197 yards, 148 from the air and 49 on the ground. Nothing was working for Stanford as they waved the white flag early going down 29-0 in the first half and allowing at least 14 points in all four quarters. Wake Forest had 519 total yards and converted 10 out of 13 third downs against Stanford. Wake Forest's defense is 113th in third down defense (43.7%) and allow up 346.8 yards per game (66th). It's going to be a long day for Stanford as oddsmakers project that as +37.5 to +38.5 point underdogs.

Let's dive into the schools on both sides of the ball, look at a few key players, and see where the numbers take us.

Game Details and How to Watch Notre Dame vs Stanford

The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings :

Moneyline: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (N/A), Stanford Cardinal (N/A)

Head Coach: Marcus Freeman 2026 Record: 5-0 Offensive Points Per Game: 41.2 (T-15th) Defensive Points Per Game: 11.8 (7th) 2026 Strength of Schedule: 61st 2026 Remaining Strength of Schedule: 53rd

Notre Dame's offense didn't have many issues moving the ball on UNC whatsoever. The Irish finished with 475 total yards and after an opening drive punt, Notre Dame scored three touchdowns. Notre Dame tried for a fourth and turned the ball over on downs then scored three consecutive drives to start the second half. The Irish's offense is cooking entering this matchup and they could post a season-high in yards or points if they want or they could choose to attempt a shutout and run clock all second half. Notre Dame will dictate how this game goes.

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Offense: QB CJ Carr

CJ Carr is coming off tying a career-high four passing touchdowns and no interceptions against UNC. Carr threw for 234 yards on 21-of-29 (72.4%) and also ran in another score to give him a career-high five total scores. Carr threw a touchdown to three different receivers and scored on six out of nine drives (T=5 TDs, 1 FG). Carr has a 13:1 TD to INT ratio this season after going 24:6 last year.

After allowing a first drive touchdown, Notre Dame's defense locked in against North Carolina with two-straight drives ending in interceptions, then a forced punt. The Irish held the Tar Heels to 285 total yards, 77 rushing yards, but only grabbed one sack. Notre Dame did grab those two first-half interceptions which turned into 14 points for the Irish offense. After allowing a season-high in points (26), I'd expect Notre Dame to keep Stanford below 10 points as a shutout is more than possible.

Notre Dame Player to Watch on Defense: DL Boubacar Traore

Boubacar Traore had his two-game sack streak snapped, but did lead Notre Dame in tackles last week (6), and had a TFL and pass deflection. Traore will face a Stanford offensive line that ranks 122nd in offensive blocking and 75th in run blocking, per PFF.

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Head Coach: Tavita Pritchard 2026 Record: 2-3 (1-3) Offensive Points Per Game: 17.4 (131st) Defensive Points Per Game: 38.2 (134th) 2026 Strength of Schedule: 10th 2026 Remaining Strength of Schedule: 41st

Stanford's offense only managed 197 yards and 13 first downs in the loss to Wake Forest, which both were season-lows. The Cardinal offense went a combined 6-of-20 on third and fourth downs and couldn't get anything going. Davis Warren threw his first pick of the season and Wake Forest record four sacks and nine TFL. The only way is up from here, but probably not by much.

Stanford Player to Watch on Offense: QB Davis Warren

Davis Warren has 234 or more yards in three out of five games this season and tossed a touchdown in three out of five with a season-high three tuddies in a 34-27 win over Georgia Tech. However, his recent outing at Wake Forest was the worst of the season. Warren went 19-of-30 (63.3%) for 136 passing yards and recorded -23 rushing yards. The Irish rank 11th in coverage, first in pressure, and second overall in defensive success per PFF. Warren is in for a battle.

Stanford allowed 519 yards, 26 first downs, 322 passing yards (10.7 ypa), 197 rushing yards (5.3 ypc), and forced one turnover in the 57-3 loss to Wake Forest. Stanford had one sack, two TFL, and recovered a fumble as the highlights. The Cardinal defense allowed at least 27 points in all five games and there's a chance Notre Dame does that by halftime like Miami and Wake Forest did.

Stanford Player to Watch on Defense: LB Matt Rose

Matt Rose has nine or more tackles in three out of four games this season. Rose is coming off 11 tackles against Wake Forest and had a season-high 12 versus Miami. Rose had a team-high 106 tackles last season with three sacks, three pass deflections, and one forced fumble. Rose is still searching for his first sack and turnover of the season.

Stanford and Notre Dame Stats, Betting Trends

Notre Dame is 3-2 ATS and 3-2 to the Over

The Fighting Irish are 1-1 ATS at home and 2-0 to the Under

The Cardinals are 0-2 ATS on the road and 1-1 on the total

Notre Dame is 14-11-1 ATS as a home favorite under Marcus Freeman and 14-12 to the Over

Stanford is 8-4 to the Over in the last 12 versus ranked opponents

Stanford is 3-9 ATS versus ranked opponents in the last 12

Stanford is 3-2 to the Over and 2-3 ATS in the last five games versus non-conference teams

Notre Dame is 19-10-1 ATS in the last 30 games as a favorite

Notre Dame is 17-13 to the Over in the last 30 games as a favorite

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Under 54.5 points:

"I'd expect Notre Dame to clean up a lot of their defensive mistakes from UNC. The Irish allowed 8.2 points per game entering last week, so the 26 from the Tar Heels certainly caught everyone off guard. Stanford is in a bad place and coming off an embarrassing 57-3 loss. The -37.5 is a little much for me, but I would expect Stanford to score 10 or fewer points here (Team Total is 7.5), so I lean the game Under 54.5 points."

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