No. 25 Californiaa Golden Bears at No. 17 Stanford Cardinals Preview
NCAA Football Betting Preview
No. 25 California Golden Bears (7-3) at No. 17 Stanford Cardinals (7-3)
Saturday November 21st, 7:30PM Eastern
Betus.com betting line – Stanford -7
As wild as the Pac-10 race has been this season, the Stanford Cardinals could have a share at the conference championship with the help of an Oregon loss. Stanford is as hot as anyone in the conference right now and maybe even the nation. The Cardinals have rattled off 3 straight wins including victories over both USC and Oregon. Stanford posted over 50 points in both of those games and has scores 106 combined during the last two outings. The Stanford offense is averaging 36 points per game this season as the nation’s 10th ranked scoring offense and they will seek to knock off their 3rd straight ranked opponent this weekend when they host the no. 25 California Golden Bears.
The Golden Bears are fresh off a solid 24-16 victory over Arizona and that was without star running back Jahvid Best. Best was hurt on the brutal end zone leap where he landed on the back of his head and suffered a concussion. Best is also out this week against Stanford meaning the running game will turn to sophomore Shane Vereen. Vereen carried the ball 30 times for 159 yards in last week’s win and is carrying an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. Vereen will have to stay strong on the ground in the absence of Best especially if the ground game is going to keep the Stanford offense off the field. QB Kevin Riley has thrown 15 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions on the season while capturing 2,186 yards through the air. Stanford has really struggled against the pass and it will be crucial for Riley to lead the efforts through the air if California is to pull off the win.
For the Cardinals, they will have to keep the red hot offense smoking. Stanford has been equally dangerous in both the pass and the running game. QB Andrew Luck has racked up 2,220 yards with 13 touchdowns and 3 picks. The freshman quarterback’s biggest performances have been in the most recent weeks where he has thrown 9 touchdowns to just 1 interception in the last 5 games.
However, senior tailback Toby Gerhart has been the true warrior for the team. Gerhart has racked up just less than 1,400 yards on the season and 19 touchdowns which is 2nd most in college football. However, California has been extremely strong against the run this season while being the exact opposite against the pass. Luck will have a chance to put up big numbers again and hook up with WR Ryan Whalen who is averaging 17 yards per catch.
Betting Trends – California has won 6 of the last 7 games over Stanford, but the Cardinals got the victory last season 37-16. California has lost 5 of the last 7 games ATS and has reached the under total in 5 of the last 6 games. Stanford has won 6 of the last 8 games ATS while reaching the over total in 4 of the last 5 games as well.
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