I posted this in response to a question I was asked by fan82 on another blog, so I'll repost it here...

...I have a strange hunch that this Saturday against Stanford, The Irish will bounce back and win.  Why?  Several reasons:

First, because they are not as bad as the 1-2 record they have right now...a couple breaks the other way would have them 3-0. 

Second, last year in Palo Alto, the Cardinal barely beat the Irish WITH Toby Gerhart and he's gone now.  Yes, they still have Andrew Luck at QB and he's damn good, but I have the feeling the Irish will be ready for him.

Third, while Stanford may be 3-0, that is against Sac State (an FCS team, and a shitty one at that), UCLA (lower-tier Pac-10 team), and Wake Forest (not exactly dominating the ACC).  Notre Dame, meanwhile, has beaten Purdue (will make a bowl somewhere), but lost to both Michigan teams narrowly (both are now in the top-25). 

Lastly, ND gets Jamoris Slaughter back from an injury this week and that will help the pass defense, while Stanford may/may not have their best reciever in Ryan Whalen available due to an injury, as well.

...Then again, I could be wrong about all this.  GO IRISH!!!  nonetheless.