Oregon Ducks

Pac-12 North Notebook: Can Stanford re-enter playoff picture with win against Notre Dame?

Published Nov. 24, 2015 12:51 p.m. ET

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Stanford should be considered a long shot to make the playoffs. However, the Cardinal aren’t out of it … yet.

Stanford has two more primetime opportunities to make its case to the College Football Playoff. First up is Notre Dame who will travel to Palo Alto to take on Stanford on Saturday (4:30 p.m. PST, FOX).

Playing Notre Dame will be a challenge for Stanford. The Fighting Irish have a solid defense led by NFL caliber players Sheldon Day and Jaylon Smith. However, the Notre Dame defense is only ranked No. 68 against the rush, meaning Christian McCaffrey could be in for another record-setting day.

Notre Dame’s offense will also pose a challenge. Quarterback DeShone Kizer has been great this season and the running game has been solid. However, the Irish may be without starting running back C.J. Prosise, meaning freshman back Josh Adams could be in line for another start.

The last three games between Stanford and Notre Dame have been decided by a touchdown or less. A close game is likely between these two very quality teams.

Should Stanford knock off Notre Dame, the Cardinal will have another opportunity to make its playoff case against the winner of the UCLA/USC game in the Pac-12 title game.

Stanford has beaten both UCLA and USC this season and has owned the Bruins over the past four seasons. If the Cardinal were to beat both Notre Dame and UCLA or USC, their resume would be very appealing to the playoff committee.

Should the Cardinal win out, their only losses would have been to Northwestern, which the committee has already said it was willing to overlook based on that game’s 9 a.m. PST start time, and to an Oregon team that is playing better than almost any team in the nation.

It’s a long shot, but Stanford still has a shot to make it to the College Football Playoff. But in order to do so, Stanford must put on a show against Notre Dame and win the Pac-12 title in style.

Royce Freeman, McCaffrey are showing off at this point

Oregon running back Royce Freeman and McCaffrey are putting up ungodly numbers.

McCaffrey leads the conference and is ranked No. 2 in the nation in rushing yards with 1,546. Freeman ranks second in the conference and third in the country with 1,539 yards.

Both sophomores rank in the top four in all-purpose yards nationally, as well. McCaffrey leads the country with 2,807 and is on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season record of 3,250. Freeman ranks No. 4 with 1,813 all-purpose yards.

After McCaffrey’s school-record 389 all-purpose yards against Cal, Stanford head coach David Shaw said that his running back has been the best player in the country this season.

"If you've seen a better football player than Christian McCaffrey this year, tell me," Shaw said, per ESPN. "Show him to me."

Quick Hits: Stanford will meet the winner of the UCLA-USC game in the Pac-12 title game next Saturday … Royce Freeman is the only player in the country with 11 straight games of 100 or more yards from scrimmage … Vernon Adams Jr. was named the Pac-12’s offensive player of the week … McCaffrey was named the Walter Camp player of the week and the Pac-12’s special teams player of the week … The Pac-12 North could have five bowl-eligible teams if Washington beats Washington State … WSU QB Luke Falk was carted off the field against Colorado after suffering a neck injury. His status for this week’s game against Washington is up in the air, though WSU AD Bill Moos said he is “hopeful” that Falk can play. 

Jason Gold covers the Pac-12 for FOX Sports. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.

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