Stanford turns to Elon after 57-3 loss to Notre Dame; Miami holds a top-five FPI spot

Stanford is regrouping after a lopsided Saturday. Notre Dame beat the Cardinal 57-3, and Fighting Irish Wire followed the result with a look at where the unbeaten Irish landed in ESPN's Football Power Index after Week 6.

The Fighting Irish Wire piece by Kevin L. Smith called the margin an impressive continuation of Notre Dame's run and asked whether the win was enough to move the Irish in ESPN's computer rankings. The outlet reported that Georgia, Ohio State, Miami and Alabama round out the FPI top five. For ACC readers, Miami is the headline there: the Hurricanes are the only conference program in that group, which keeps them near the top of a predictive model that weighs both results and projected strength.

For Stanford, the loss is harder to take. Fifty-four points is a decisive gap against any opponent, and holding the Cardinal to a field goal says a lot about how little the offense could do against Notre Dame's defense. Stanford is now 2-4. A loss that big tends to drag a team down in efficiency-based models like the FPI, which account for how a team loses, not just whether it does.

The schedule eases this week. Stanford hosts Elon on Saturday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, with the game streaming on ACCNX. Elon arrives at 4-3, a winning record for a visiting program that will see the trip as a chance at a notable result. For Stanford, the game is a chance to stop the slide before the second half of the season gets underway.

The stakes for the Cardinal are simple. At 2-4, every remaining game counts if Stanford wants to stay in the conversation for a winning season or bowl eligibility. A sharp performance against Elon would not wipe out the Notre Dame result, but it would give the staff something to build on and offer a better picture of where the offense stands after it managed just three points.

The things to watch Saturday are whether Stanford can establish an offensive rhythm early and whether the defense, which spent much of last weekend on the field, can get off it against an Elon team that has won more than it has lost. A slow start at home against a visitor with a winning record would bring more questions than a strong night would answer.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, keeps building its case in the computer rankings. Its next moves in the FPI will be closely watched in South Bend. For the ACC, Miami's place among the model's top five is a reminder that the conference has a team the numbers rate among the national elite.