How To Watch No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Stanford Cardinal

Tonight, the 9th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2) look to close out their regular season on a high note when they travel out west to take on the Stanford Cardinal (4-7). The Irish are riding a nine-game win streak and are one of the hottest teams in the country. The Cardinal have only lost once at home and will be celebrating their Senior Day as this is their last home game of the regular season. With a win, Notre Dame's chances of making the playoffs will continue to increase while Stanford is looking to end their season on a high note.

Where: Stanford, CA. - Stanford Stadium When: 10:30 PM ESTTelevision: ESPN - Dave Flemming (play-by-play); Brock Osweiler (analyst); Stormy Buonantony (sideline)Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network: Tony Simeone (play-by-play); Ryan Harris (analyst) Spread: Notre Dame -32.5; O/U 51.5

The Irish are led by head coach Marcus Freeman who is in his fourth season as head coach. Last season, he led Notre Dame to their first major bowl win in 30 years and an appearance in the National Championship. This season, he's looking to replicate that run and overcome an 0-2 start. They've won nine straight games, all by double digits, spearheaded by a dominant rushing attack, and explosive pass offense and a lock-down defense. Their offense is led by running back and Heisman candidate Jeremiyah Love, redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, a stout offensive line and a host of playmaking pass catchers.

The defense is led by a host of experienced players including linebacker Drayk Bowen, safety Adon Shuler and cornerback Leonard Moore a superb sophomore. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his staff have this unit playing at an extremely high level and are a shell of themselves from September. They've held seven of their last eight opponents to 13 or less offensive points and now lead the nation in interceptions. The defensive turnaround has been a leading factor in their win streak which they look to extend to 10 wins after tonight's battle for the Legend's Trophy.

Stanford's struggles started before the season began. They fired former head coach Troy Taylor and hired a new general manager, Andrew Luck, to aid in the search for a head coach. Luck landed on his former head coach with the Indianapolis Colts, Frank Reich, to be the interim head coach this season. While all that was happening, they lost 27 players to the transfer portal and were only able to bring in 18. That being said, Stanford was able to overcome some of their roster deficiencies and get to a 4-7 record this season including being 4-1 at home. Their only loss at home was against Pitt a few weeks ago.

As a whole, they struggled to put points on the board and keep opposing teams out of the end zone. They rank 124th in the country in points scored per game and 86th in the country in points allowed. The Cardinal did score over 30 points for the first time this season last week in their 31-10 win over Cal in a rivalry game. They have quality players on either side of the ball, but complete units, they've struggled this season.

This is the 39th all-time meeting between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinal. Notre Dame holds a 24-14 series lead in the battle for the Legends Trophy. The Irish have won the last two, but Stanford pulled off the upset win in South Bend in Freeman's first season at the helm. Notre Dame has won five of the last six matchup and have won the last two seasons by a combined score of 105-30.

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