[Goose]

Notre Dame lost close games to Miami and aTm then basically curb-stomped the rest of their schedule, which includes some decent teams -- teams all significantly better than Stanford -- like Pitt, Navy, USC, Boise State, and NC State. If they lose another game they will miss the playoff. They have one more game to play and not lose. They will not be complacent. Stanford might win, maybe by playing batshit why not crazy, but it won't be because Notre Dame overlooked them or is complacent. They don't know their next game after this, so it's not a trap game.

As an aside, who is the next Marcus Freeman?  Definitely not a splash hire like some here seem to want. I get it, Stanford is wandering in the media/spotlight wilderness, so it is different than in South Bend, but just find a good coach.

Agree with both of the above. The list of qualifications proposed for our next head coach is ginormous. There are a whole lot of good coaches out there that probably meet 3/4 of them, but NOBODY meets all of them. So far,nobody has a hiring algorithm that is guaranteed to produce a "winning" head coach. Part of it will still be a subjective decision. Undoubtedly it will be heavily modulated by who is interested in coaching Stanford. Nothing new about that.

[Goose]

Notre Dame lost close games to Miami and aTm then basically curb-stomped the rest of their schedule, which includes some decent teams -- teams all significantly better than Stanford -- like Pitt, Navy, USC, Boise State, and NC State. If they lose another game they will miss the playoff. They have one more game to play and not lose. They will not be complacent. Stanford might win, maybe by playing batshit why not crazy, but it won't be because Notre Dame overlooked them or is complacent. They don't know their next game after this, so it's not a trap game.

As an aside, who is the next Marcus Freeman?  Definitely not a splash hire like some here seem to want. I get it, Stanford is wandering in the media/spotlight wilderness, so it is different than in South Bend, but just find a good coach.

Agree with both of the above. The list of qualifications proposed for our next head coach is ginormous. There are a whole lot of good coaches out there that probably meet 3/4 of them, but NOBODY meets all of them. So far,nobody has a hiring algorithm that is guaranteed to produce a "winning" head coach. Part of it will still be a subjective decision. Undoubtedly it will be heavily modulated by who is interested in coaching Stanford. Nothing new about that.