For just the third time in the history of the two programs, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt will meet on the gridiron. It has certainly been a short history between the schools, but it's been one dominated by the Irish to this point.
Notre Dame has won both meetings with Vandy by a combined score of -- wait for it -- 55-7. The last meeting was a 14-7 win by the Irish in Nashville, Tennessee, back in 1996. Both teams enter this week's contest with a perfect 2-0 record, but something's got to give on Saturday in Indiana.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 15 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Notre Dame Stadium -- South Bend, Indiana
TV: NBC | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Storylines
Notre Dame: The question for Notre Dame is whether last week's performance was an outlier or a symptom. The Irish picked up a big win over Michigan in their opener, but after a quick start to the game, Notre Dame had difficulty putting Michigan away. Last week, the Irish seemed stuck in neutral. Ball State scored 10 fourth-quarter points to make the game look closer, even if they were never a true threat, but should Ball State even have been in a position to do so?
Vanderbilt: Odds are you haven't paid much attention to Vanderbilt this year, but if you have, you've been impressed. After crushing Middle Tennessee 35-7 in the opener, the Commodores followed it up with a 31-point win over Nevada last week. The defense has been salty, Kyle Shurmur's been efficient and Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Jamauri Wakefield and Khari Blasingame have been effective on the ground.
Game prediction, picks
I'm not ready to tell you that Vanderbilt is going to beat Notre Dame this weekend, because I don't see that happening. I do think this game will be close, though, as I just haven't been impressed with the Notre Dame offense through two games. Take the Commodores. Pick: Vanderbilt +14.5
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