Notre Dame Football: After This Off-Week, Come Out Roaring vs. Stanford

The Irish should be fully prepared for what comes next - the Stanford Cardinal

Notre Dame offensive lineman Anthonie Knapp (54) celebrates a Notre Dame touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame needed the break desperately

Notre Dame has had an interesting start to the 2024 season. From the excitement of the Week 1 upset of Texas A&M and the hard-fought ranked win over Louisville to the shock of the Northern Illinois defeat, it's been quite the five-week ride.

Notre Dame is in the midst of a week off.

One that it desperately needed given the latest injury list. The Irish are beat up. They need this break to begin to heal up and to give the staff an extended window of time to plan for what comes next, including big personnel challenges due to the exaggerated extent of the injury situation.

Sep 14, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jordan Botelho (12) is carted off the field with an apparent injury during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Looking ahead to Stanford after the break, with an interesting twist

Normally, I have concerns about Notre Dame coming out of the break. How will the team respond after not playing for 2 weeks? Will the Irish be more focused or out of sync from having their routines disrupted? I don't have that concern this time around for one main reason.

Stanford is Notre Dame's opponent after the break, visiting South Bend on October 12th.

Given that the Irish lost to a hapless Stanford team in Freeman's first year as head coach at home and suffered a very similar loss to Northern Illinois already this year, I expect a zoned-in and focused Irish team. There is no scenario where Stanford will "sneak up" on Notre Dame again.

Have the Irish learned from their recent issue at home and with Stanford at home specifically?

I'd like to hope so.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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