Notre Dame lost its fourth-straight game last Saturday in a game that never should have been played.

In atrocious conditions, North Carolina State blocked a punt and took a 10-3 lead. Then, as the Irish drove for the tying touchdown, DeShone Kizer fumbled the snap. It was recovered by the Wolfpack, who then ran out the clock for a 10-3 victory.The soggy field conditions were equal to the soggy coaching performance of Brian Kelly. This loss is on him.Kelly, for whatever reason, attempted to play a passing game in conditions that called for an rushing approach. Kelly said the field conditions were not good even to run and felt the passing game was the answer. It was also a game of turnovers for the Irish. The Wolfpack handled the game conditions much better than the Irish. Fumbled snaps in shotgun situations were blamed on ND center Sam Mustipher, a junior playing the position for the first time this year. It was his misfire during the last drive that ND was moving towards tying the game, which caused the fumble and the NCS recovery.But the blame can not go solely on Mustipher.Kelly's decision to continue to pass the ball was the major problem. Also, he should have given backup quarterback Malik Zaire a chance. Zaire runs the option better than Kizer, which would have given the Wolfpack another threat to handle under the horrible playing conditions. Kelly said after the game he never considered replacing Kizer. Zaire was used only once during the game.Kizer completed just 9-of-26 passes for 54 yards and was sacked five times. With running backs like Josh Adams and Dexter Williams at your disposal, you would think, after the resumption of the game in the third quarter, that Kelly would have tried to run the ball after seeing the passing game wasn't working.More on the game later.Today, the Irish host Stanford in a prime time game with a 7:40 p.m. start and televised nationally by NBC.The Cardinal comes into the game at 3-2, with wins over Kansas State, USC, and UCLA.. The Cardinal has lost the last two games, to fifth-ranked Washington and Washington State.Quarterback Ryan Burns leads the Cardinal with 768 yards and five touchdowns. Top receivers are Trenton Irwin with 16 catches for 200 yards, and Michael Rector with 187 yards.The Cardinal offense is led by All-American running back Christian McCaffery. The tailback has tallied 520 yards on 99 carries and three scores this season. However, McCaffery has been struggling the last two as he's been battling through injuries.McCaffery reportedly suffered a hip injury against Washington State last week in the third quarter and never returned. He is listed as doubtful for tonight's game. He is the son of former Cardinal standout, Ed McCaffery, a Allentown native who played for Central Catholic High School.IRISH NOTES ... Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 19-11-0. Stanford won in the final seconds last year, 38-36. The Irish are 12-3-0 at home against the Cardinal.The National Weather Service said that over five inches of rain fell in the Raleigh area from Friday night until Saturday evening last week. The playing field was like a small lake. The game never should have been played in those conditions. It was not fair to both teams and the fans. The NCAA should look into the decision to play this game. ND reportedly offered to play the game Sunday starting at noon, but the offer was not accepted. South Bend Tribune writer Al Lesar, on the decision to play the game, wrote, "College football games are precious. To waste one in such a deplorable environment is a travesty."....The game statistics supports the criticism Kelly is getting for not running the ball more. The Irish had a total of 59 yards rushing, while the Wolf Pack totaled 157. Notre Dame compiled 113 total yards, while NCS finished with 198. If NCS could run for almost 200 yards, ND should have been able to run the ball too....Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey set an FBS record for all-purpose yards last season, averaging 276 per game. He's third nationally in that category in 2016, at 188.2. The 2015 Heisman Trophy runner-up was third nationally in rushing last season at 144.2 yards per game, and is 23rd this season at 104.0.... ND's running back Tarean Folston , who missed the past two games with ankle injury is available today. Backup nose guard Pete Mokwuah, also with a ankle, is also ready for tonight.... Former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen will be a guest analyst for NBC tonight working the pregame show, halftime show and post game studio coverage.....ND will finally get a week off next week. Irish returns to action on Oct. 29 hosting Miami in a 3:30 p.m. game....In my preseaon picks I have the Cardinal upsetting the Irish, but how the season has changed since then. Both teams are struggling and in the last two weeks Stanford's defense has given up 86 points, while its potent running game is not there. ND is favored by three. I'm calling this one a toss-up. The only thing favoring the Irish is their offense. If it clicks tonight, and Kizer has a good game, Notre Dame will prevail.