Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Stanford

Stanford held to under 100 rushing yards

Notre Dame’s defensive line has been scary as of late. Their ability to control the line of scrimmage has been unmatched and stands as a strong factor in the recent success the Irish have found.

Overall the line has looked solid throughout this season with an exception here or there. But, the last four games deserve to be recognized and should be expected to continue versus Stanford.

While the last two game’s numbers might not seem that impressive (281 and 128 rushing yards allowed), it should be taken as much deeper than face value.

Those numbers become much more impressive when you realize the last two opponents were Navy and Boston College. It was the second-lowest rushing yardage Navy and Boston College had both been held to this season.

For the most part, the Cardinal utilize their run game to set up the passing attack.

With that being said, Cameron Scarlett is a special talent as RB1 for Stanford. He has taken the third-most rushing attempts in the Pac-12 this season while averaging 4.2 yards a carry.

But his success has come to a halt in the last three games. With 63, 3, and 31 rushing yards it’s hard to imagine that Notre Dame will be the opponent to let him get back into form.

Outside of Scarlett, Stanford’s running game takes a huge hit. Austin Jones is the next leading rusher with only 194 yards on 38 attempts. Those two are the only ones who have found the end zone on their feet this season to total for only seven touchdowns.

The level in which the Notre Dame defensive line has been able to play at has been more than impressive. Their ability to have been able to read a triple-option offense as well as a strong Boston College running attack should carry onto the regular-season finale and crush any hope of Stanford establishing the run.