No. 9 Notre Dame needs win over Stanford to stay in College Football Playoff hunt

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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Notre Dame has one last chance to impress the playoff selection committee.

The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish (9-2, No. 9 CFP) wrap up the regular season on Saturday night when they visit Stanford (4-7) knowing that a loss would end any hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame has spent most of the past two seasons in must-win mode. The Irish recovered from a Week 2 loss last season to Northern Illinois to run off 13 straight wins — including three in the playoff — before losing the title game to Ohio State.

They dropped their first two games this season to Miami and Texas A&M, once again leaving no margin for error.

“It’s hard to remember what it was like in the moment, like right now we’re in the middle of the game and it’s high pressure,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said, reflecting on the series of must-win games they had to win to reach last year’s playoff. “In the moment, you’re just so entrenched on this opportunity right in front of you, and I think that’s what’s most important. That’s enough pressure, right? You start thinking about this big picture and what’s happening, an uncertain future and that’s added pressure that you don’t need. This is the Super Bowl. Saturday is the Super Bowl.”

The Cardinal are hoping to pull off the upset in their final game under interim coach Frank Reich, who took over in April after Troy Taylor was fired.

Stanford has shown signs of improvement this season and is coming off a big win in The Game against California. But this might be the toughest test in a season that has included three other games against teams in the running for a playoff spot.

“We want to finish strong,” Reich said. “So we’re going to prepare to win, prepare to play to win. You know, I know this: We’ve played a very tough schedule this year. We played a lot of really good football teams. This is just going to be the next one, and so we are not going to get too caught up in their tradition and who they are.”

When college football fans think of rivalry week, Notre Dame-Stanford might not be the first game that comes to mind. But at a storied program that features annual matchups against Southern California and Navy and has had long-standing rivalries with Michigan and Purdue, Freeman thinks the Irish-Cardinal contest is every bit as special.

And, like the Southern Cal game, he would like to keep the series going.

“We've got to do everything in our power to try to keep this thing," Freeman said. “It’s a rivalry game. That’s what’s most important. We've got to respect our opponent. We've got to respect the history and tradition of this game.”

Stanford didn't have a lot of footage to study from running back Jeremiyah Love's most recent performance. They still saw what they needed.

Despite logging only eight carries in last week's 70-7 rout over Syracuse, Love produced one of his most dominating performances with 171 yards rushing, three scores and five first downs. And Saturday will be his final chance to impress Heisman Trophy voters that he should be the one to extend the streak of a running back winning college football's most prestigious award in every year that ends in a five. The last three running backs to win the award were Derrick Henry in 2015, Mark Ingram in 2009 and Reggie Bush in 2005.

“I think you look at Jeremiyah Love and you say ‘OK, every time he gets the ball, there’s a chance he can go all the way,'” Freeman said. “And, yes, not going to get the carries maybe all the other runners in the country get, but what he does when he does get the carries is tremendous.”

Stanford first-year GM Andrew Luck brought Reich out of retirement after he fired Taylor in hopes that he would start the process of restoring a winning tradition. Reich has enjoyed the college experience after spending most of the past four decades in the NFL and has made the impact Luck wanted.

“He’s been amazing as a head coach,” linebacker Jahsiah Galvan said. “I’ve never been around a leader like him. To have him in the program and see the energy that he brings on a daily basis, he truly pours out for everyone on the team and everyone involved with the program. ... It’s just a blessing that he’s here. He's been a big part of getting this program in the direction that it wants to go.”

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AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.

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