No. 6 Stanford Cardinal (-10) at Arizona Wildcats, Total 54.5 |
Stanford has had little trouble in picking up blowout victories over San Jose State (57-3) and Duke (44-14) leading up to its Pac-12 Conference opener. The Cardinal are 9-1 in September contests over the last three season and have won 10 straight games dating back to the 2010 campaign.
The team is tied for fourth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 50.5 points a game, while also outscoring its last 15 opponents by a 345-100 margin in the first half.
Quarterback Andrew Luck has been sharp throughout, completing 20-of-28 passes a week ago, while also matching a career-high with four touchdown passes. The ground game is averaging 173 yards a game behind him, but that’s off from its 213.8-yard average through two games last year.
On the other side of the ball, the Cardinal defense rank second nationally in rush defense, allowing just 28.5 yards a game, while ranking 11th in allowing just 8.5 yards a contest.
Stanford trails in the all-time series with Arizona, 12-14, but has won three of the last four games overall and four of the last five at Arizona Stadium.
The two teams combined for 1,137 yards in total offense, including 849 through the air in 2009’s contest at tonight’s venue. Luck threw for a career high 423 yards.
Bettors will find that the Cardinal are 8-1 ATS in September and the ‘under’ is 6-3 in those contests in betting predictions.
Arizona was handed a 37-14 road loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys as 14-point underdogs last week, as the program’s victory came in Week 1 against a non-FBS school, handing the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks a 41-10 defeat.
Quarterback Nick Foles leads the Pac-12 with 810 passing yards, but knows the passing game needs some help from the backfield. “You have to be able to run the ball,” Foles commented. “We have running backs capable, we have the ability to run it.”
The Wildcats rank 115th out of 120 schools in rushing this season and may also be missing a key part of the passing attack with star wide receiver Juron Criner listed as doubtful. He underwent an appendectomy on Sept. 5 and missed last week’s game.
Head coach Mike Stoops has tallied at least one victory over a ranked team in his seven years on campus, but is still just 9-22 against such opponents. Arizona as a program is 39-95-1 versus teams ranked in any poll.
The college football betting public will notice that the Wildcats are 8-5 ATS in home games and the ‘over’ holds a slight 6-5 advantage over that span in betting predictions.
