The fifth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish improved to 25-2 after dominating Stanford 45-14 on Saturday night. Notre Dame’s win, and the top four Pac-12 teams, means that a conference team will not appear in the College Football Playoff, as per the terms of the new BCS system. So moving forward, rather than having a conference champ get a spot, a team’s opponents must, to capture a semifinal berth, go undefeated this season. Stanford (9-5) is guaranteed a spot in a conference championship game, but a loss there and the ACC will need a conference champion with a CFP bid of its own to make the bracket.
Luke Farrell led the Irish with 15 carries for 95 yards and three touchdowns. Quentin Harris had a huge night, throwing for two touchdowns and running for one for an end zone total of three touchdowns. The Irish are on a 13-game winning streak heading into a conference championship game, and will head into the game as favorites.
Dartmouth, who was seeded ninth in the Ivy League tournament and finished tied for fourth, will play Princeton in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Princeton (9-3) received the No. 2 seed after losing its first two games, then went on to win seven straight — all by double digits — to take the Patriot League championship. Dartmouth (5-6) has never played Princeton, but there is one common opponent the teams share: Harvard. Dartmouth beat the Crimson, 23-13, in the regular season, while Princeton beat Harvard, 30-27, in the 2013 Ivy League championship game.