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Stanford Cardinal vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gambling Prediction & Week 7 Preview

Cardinal vs Fighting Irish NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping

The No. 17 Stanford Cardinal and the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off in week seven in one of the most highly anticipated games all week.

No. 17 Stanford Cardinal (4-1) vs No. 7 Notre Dame (5-0)
Saturday October 13, 2012
3:30 PM ET
Moneyline: Notre Dame -310, Stanford +250 from WagerWeb
Spread: Notre Dame -8
O/U: 45

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Notre Dame is looking to get revenge for their 28-14 loss in Stanford last season, while the Cardinal looks to defeat their second top-10 team this year.

Both teams are off to great starts, but the Fighting Irish are the ones bringing a perfect record into their matchup this week.

Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal squeaked out an overtime victory against Arizona last week, but a high-scoring shootout surprised those who believed Stanford had one of the better defenses in the nation. They allowed too many passes over the top and gave up 617 total yards to the Wildcats.

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The Cardinal’s defense may not be on the same level as Notre Dame’s, but their run defense will be their biggest asset this weekend. The team from Stanford gives up only 77.2 yards per game on the ground, which is a good statistic to own against a Fighting Irish squad that is heavily reliant upon the run.

The big question for the Cardinal this week is, will Josh Nunes put enough pressure on Notre Dame’s secondary? The junior quarterback has been inconsistent through the first half of the season, but he’s also had moments where he’s looked down-right brilliant. He played horribly on the road earlier this year, and his receivers need to officially step up, which doesn’t bode well for the team’s second visit away from Stanford Stadium.

Notre Dame hasn’t been tested much this weekend, and at the very least, Stanford will give them that test.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have hands-down one of the top defenses in the entire country. Allowing just 7.8 points per game (2nd in the nation), the team from South Bend has given up double-digit points just twice this season. They’re allowing just 183.2 yards through the air (22nds in the nation) and 106.8 yards on the ground (18th in the nation).

That being said, their offense is still working out the kinks. Quarterback Everett Golson is a redshirt freshman and he’s thrown just three touchdowns all season. He’s shown he can be a threat on the ground, but he’s yet to do it against a defense of Stanford’s caliber.

Offensively, the thing that Notre Dame has going for them is their physical offensive line. Their size and strength has allowed the running game to at least take the pressure off of their young quarterback.

The Fighting Irish have lost the last three times they’ve played Stanford, but the key ingredient to the Cardinal’s success has been Andrew Luck. Without Luck on the roster, Stanford has struggled mightily against the Fighting Irish over the last decade. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

These two teams have gone through many changes since the last time they met in 2011. The Cardinal no longer have a Heisman candidate preparing for the NFL draft, and the Fighting Irish are considered one of the top teams in the nation.

Defense is going to be the name of the game in South Bend this weekend, but Arizona showed last weekend that you can put up points against Stanford. The question is, how much can Stanford score against Notre Dame? Expect this game to be fairly low scoring, and expect the Fighting Irish to ride their defense from beginning to start.

Trends

Fighting Irish are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Fighting Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in October.
Fighting Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Fighting Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on grass.
Under is 5-1 in Cardinal last 10 games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game.
Under is 5-1 in Cardinal last 6 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Under is 4-0 in Fighting Irish in last 4 games overall.
Under is 4-0 in Fighting Irish last 4 vs. Pac-12
Under is 4-1 in Fighting Irish last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

O/U Pick: Under 45
Score Prediction: Notre Dame 23 – Stanford 13

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"