Notre Dame heads into Saturday afternoon with a matchup that looks tilted before the first snap, and Stanford’s numbers only sharpen that picture. The Cardinal are rebuilding under a new head coach and a new GM, and the offense has struggled to find talent. On the other side of the ball, the defense has been even tougher to watch.
A Notre Dame social media post from The Fourth Quarter put the issue in stark relief by tracking how often each FBS defense allows a touchdown. The Irish come in at No. 13, giving up a touchdown on just 12.5% of opponent possessions. Stanford sits at the other extreme.
The Cardinal are No. 138, last among FBS teams, and the number behind that ranking is eye-opening: Stanford has allowed a touchdown on 46.4% of opponent possessions this season. That kind of rate leaves little room for optimism against any competent offense, and it gives CJ Carr a matchup that should look awfully inviting.
The rest of Stanford’s defensive profile tells the same story. The Cardinal are last in the ACC by allowing 38.2 points per game, and they are nine points per game worse than second-to-last Louisville. They’re also surrendering 458.8 total yards per game, along with 299.8 passing yards and 159 rushing yards.
The run defense is the one area that doesn’t place Stanford dead last, but even there the Cardinals are still near the bottom, sitting 14th in the 18-team ACC. With talk already centered on how Notre Dame’s defense will handle a below-average Stanford offense - even if cornerback Leonard Moore and linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa can’t go - the bigger question may be how badly the Irish offense can punish a defense that has given up this much all season.
In Other News...
Notre Dames BYU Matchup Just Took A Huge Turn For The Irish
BYUs offense just lost one of its most important pieces ahead of its October 17 trip to South Bend. Running back LJ Martin, who has been a key part of the Cougars rushing attack, will be out for at least one month after sustaining a lower-body injury in the game against TCU. For Notre Dame, that changes the feel of a matchup that already carried plenty of weight.
Martins absence matters because BYU now has to reshape how it wants to move the ball, especially if it needs to lean more heavily on the passing game to make up for the lost production on the ground. The Irish will still have to prepare for a physical, capable opponent, but the loss of a primary rushing threat gives Notre Dame a little more clarity on what this game may look like when the Cougars arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Denbrock Sees One Thing Holding Back Notre Dame's Offense
Notre Dames offense has put together a strong start in the 2026 season, piling up 41.2 points per game while showing up near the top of the national statistical rankings in a number of key areas. The Irish have protected the football well, kept the quarterback relatively clean and produced efficient play overall, which is a big reason the unit has looked more complete than it did at times a year ago.
Still, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock sees room for growth in the parts of the game that tend to decide tighter matchups. Third-down conversions and red zone finishing remain the biggest emphasis, and the Irish also want to build more depth at receiver so their top targets are not carrying the load every week. For a team that has already shown it can score, the next step is making sure those drives keep ending with points when the field shrinks and the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States Big Ten Collapse Became A Warning Wisconsin Fans Know
Penn States loss to Notre Dame in the 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl still looms over what followed, because the Nittany Lions opened the 2025 season 3-0 and then watched the year unravel almost immediately after. Six straight losses pushed the program into a full reset, ending with James Franklins firing and the search for a new direction in a conference that rarely forgives a long skid.
Matt Campbell arrived 58 days later, bringing several players with him from Iowa State and hoping to stabilize a roster that suddenly needed a new identity. The early returns in Big Ten play made the adjustment look even tougher, a reminder for Wisconsin fans of how quickly a contender can go from promising to vulnerable when the conference grind exposes every flaw. [Read more 🡒]