Scouting: Stanford (3-0) @ Notre Dame (1-2)

Stanford (3-0) at Notre Dame (1-2)When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame StadiumTV: Channel 5; Radio: WLS 890-AMSeries: Notre Dame leads 17-7Coaches: Jim Harbaugh (20-20, fourth year at Stanford, 49-26 overall); Brian Kelly (1-2, first year at Notre Dame, 172-59-2 overall)Players to watch: Stanford QB Andrew Luck ranks just behind Northwestern's Dan Persa in passing efficiency. Luck owns 10 touchdowns in just 70 attempts, an absurd ratio considering two of the Cardinal's three games came against decent BCS programs. He also averages 10.8 yards per carry. WRs Doug Baldwin (10 catches, 194 yards, 3 TDs) and Griff Whalen (10-113-1) are his top targets. And don't think there are two No. 48s on Stanford's roster. Senior Owen Marecic starts at inside linebacker AND fullback.Notre Dame's offense is imbalanced toward the pass, but that's partly because QB Dayne Crist has been so solid. The Irish rank eighth nationally in passing yardage with Crist hitting 64 percent of his throws for 851 yards, 7 TDs and 2 INT. Kyle Rudolph (21-287-2) and Michael Floyd (16-229-2) remain his go-to guys, but Theo Riddick boasts 14 catches out of the slot. ILB Manti Te'o averages 11 tackles per game, but here's a problem: He has the team's only forced fumble.The skinny: Chew on this stat for a moment: Notre Dame has lost its last TEN games against Top 25 teams. That doesn't bode well against the 16th-ranked Cardinal. On the other hand, Stanford has lost its last seven trips to Notre Dame (dating to 1992) and hasn't started a season 4-0 since 1986. These historical numbers mean less, of course, than Stanford's ridiculous offensive output to date. The Cardinal had the ball 11 times last week against Wake Forest and delivered 10 touchdowns. Considering ND ranks among the nation's bottom half in every pass-defense category - while Stanford leads the country allowing just 90 passing yards per game, the Irish might not be able to go throw for throw with the visitors.He said it: Brian Kelly on where Dayne Crist must get better: "The areas of his improvement, which will be publicly stated, and he knows it, and we're not hiding anything, (are) his ball control throws. He had 13 incomplete passes that were all ball control throws. That's the area of when we clean that up, he will possess the things necessary to lead our football team as far as we can go."False20001333Stanford coach Jim HarbaughTony AvelarFalse