Tony Jones Jr. ran for two touchdowns, rookie Blake Grupe kicked two field goals and the New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-17 on Monday night to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2013.

15 Notre Dame reached double-digit wins for the third straight season by beating Stanford 45-24 on Saturday. Book has been especially sharp late in the season with 12 TD passes and no interceptions in the final three contests. His 33 TD passes on the season are second in school history to Brady Quinn's 37 in 2006. Stanford then had seven punts and a fumble the next eight possessions before getting a late TD run from Cameron Scarlett. CELEBRATIONFor the second straight week, an opponent celebrated a rivalry game win at Stanford Stadium.

16 Notre Dame looking in the rear-view mirror when it has danger lurking Saturday in a visit from red-hot Virginia Tech. The reality is that Notre Dame (5-2) will try to salvage a season that once had high promise. "I know that we will see the Notre Dame team that we saw in all the weeks before that," Fuente said. The Irish, meanwhile, managed just 47 rushing yards on 31 carries against the Wolverines after rushing for a season-high 311 yards against USC. 6 Irish won 45-23 behind Book's 271 passing yards and Dexter Williams' 178 rushing yards, including a 97-yard TD run.