The Legends Trophy has lost a bit of its shine as Notre Dame enters this year’s edition of the rivalry matchup with Stanford, having won six of the past seven meetings and outscoring the Cardinal 296-121 during this time. Expect this domination to continue on Saturday when one of the worst ACC offenses travels to South Bend to take on one of the best defenses in the nation.

Through three games, Purdue’s offensive attack has tried to be balanced; however, the passing game is having much more success compared to the ground. Overall, the Boilermakers are averaging an impressive 488.7 total yards per game, including 6.8 yards per play.

Michigan State has relied heavily on the run in their first two games. It has worked thus far, averaging 204 rushing yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry. This sets up a battle of strength on strength for Saturday as Notre Dame’s run defense looks like one of the best in the country through two weeks. The Irish are holding opponents to two yards per carry and have not allowed a rushing touchdown this season. This could be where the game is won or lost this week.

The focus shifts to Rice and Head Coach Scott Abell’s funky offense. Abell’s offense is best described as the service academies’ option attack with just a bit more passing involved.