Notre Dame at Stanford: Rule of Tree Staff Predictions

Matt Vassar Stanford 31, Notre Dame 27. Notre Dame is going to be a tough out. Even with C.J. Prosise out, they still have so many offensive weapons and so many ways to burn you, so I just don't see Stanford leaving this Notre Dame team in its dust like Stanford had so many other teams this season. That said, Notre Dame's rush defense is only mediocre, and this should allow Christian McCaffrey to put up a good number of rushing yards and continue to make his case for the Heisman when everybody is watching him play against a top ten team. I also like McCaffrey's odds of extending his school record steak to ten consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards, and I think the Cardinal have just enough to edge out Notre Dame in this game. And if Stanford does edge out Notre Dame, there may be something more than just bragging rights at stake.

Click below to listen to Matt Vassar commenting on the surprising CFP rankings from Tuesday, and how the CFP has now opened up several chaos scenarios that every Stanford fan should be rooting for:

twitter: @CardinalVassar

Nerdnation23: Stanford and Notre Dame have been close games the last couple of years regardless of who's playing on either side. This top-ranked showdown will go down to the wire with Stanford getting a late field goal to go up 9 and seal the game. Stanford 30 Notre Dame 21.

TonyFernandesSports:  Stanford 27, Notre Dame 24. This game is going to come down to who has the ball last. Notre Dame has a stellar defense, and have played well with a back up QB all season. I just see a little retribution from last year, when Stanford played conservative and lost the game late. That loss spiraled the Cardinal a bit last season, and I see them not allowing that to happen again this season. I honestly do not see McCaffrey running wild this week, and feel that it will be up to the leadership of Hogan and his ability to maintain the "Time of Possession" battle to lead Stanford to victory.

twitter: @tonefernsports

Sean Levy: Stanford has shown week in week out that their secondary isn't that great. With a speedster like Fuller they will be exploited all game. This will open up the running game by putting more people in coverage. On the defensive side of the ball Notre Dame has a good line and the best linebacker in football. I expect Hogan to come out throwing bullets instead of running first. I say Brian Kelly gets his first win in Palo Alto. 21-17

twitter: @Slevy1369