Stanford’s about to get tested, three times over

1: Stanford has won 14 consecutive games but hasn’t really been tested this season. Well, it’s time for midterm exams. In the next month, the Cardinal will face Washington, USC and Oregon, which have a combined record of 15-3. Stanford also plays host to Notre Dame on Nov. 26.

2: Oklahoma is higher-ranked in the polls, but is Oklahoma State actually the best team in the state? We’ll know more this week after the Cowboys visit dangerous Missouri and we’ll know even more when Oklahoma closes the regular season at Oklahoma State in the annual “Bedlam” game.

3: USC versus Notre Dame is always better when the teams are great. For now, though, we’ll have to be happy with “good.” The Trojans bring a 5-1 record to South Bend on Saturday against a Notre Dame squad that has won four straight after an 0-2 start.

4: How long can Bill Snyder keep this up? Kansas State has a great chance to be 7-0 after the Wildcats play at Kansas on Saturday. Beyond that, though, it gets dicey, as Kansas State must face Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Texas in consecutive weeks.

5: Wisconsin has won six games by the average score of 40.3 to 9.6 but you can expect that margin to narrow when the Badgers travel to East Lansing. Michigan State improved to 5-1 on Saturday when it defeated archrival Michigan for the fourth straight time.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com