It's quite simply, "The Big Game," as the Stanford Cardinal (5-6 SU, 7-4 ATS) takes on the California Golden Bears (6-4 SU, 7-3 ATS) in NCAA college football sports betting action that is set to kick off at 3:30 PM ET at Memorial Stadium (artificial turf) in Berkeley, CA.
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: CALIFORNIA -9
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* STAN has covered four of its last five games
* STAN has lost four of its last six games SU
* STAN has played eight of its last 11 games OVER the total
* STAN has covered two of its last eight road games
* STAN has lost seven of its last eight road games SU
* STAN has played five of its last six road games OVER the total
* CAL has covered eight of its last 11 games
* CAL has covered its last five home games
Also....
* CAL has covered five of the last seven meetings
* CAL has won five of the last six meetings SU
* The last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
* STAN has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team
Both teams are coming off relatively rough outings. Cal dropped a 34-21 decision to Oregon State and managed only 232 yards in the process. Stanford was taken out to the woodshed, at least to some extent, by the USC Trojans, who got a measure of revenge for last year's defeat by beating Stanford by 22 points.
Unfortunately, we can't say that Tavita Pritchard is getting any more proficient in the passing game (just 9 for 22 against USC last week). But the key to this game might be the ability of Stanford to keep the chains moving and shorten the proceedings with the help of Toby Gerhart, perhaps the most potent offensive weapon on this field, who has gained 100 yards or more in five of the last six games and has tallied 14 TD's on the year. You can't discount Anthony Kimble either (chipped in with 106 yards against Oregon two weeks ago). Cal has limited opponents to 3.3 yards a carry, but this is potentially one of the better rushing attacks they've faced.
Sure, it's a revenge game for the Bears, who were turned back 20-13 at Palo Alto last year, as they coughed the ball up three times. But you are talking about a Stanford team that is more competitive than last year, puts pressure on opposing passers (32 sacks), and can get themselves bowl-eligible with a win here. They did get 202 yards rushing against the rock-ribbed Trojan defense last week. And Cal QB Kevin Riley has had a tough time of it the last two weeks, completing 15 of 41 passes. He should do better here, but in this heated and historic rivalry, the Cardinal can do enough to keep things very tight. We'll grab points with Stanford, the nine-point underdog in the BetUS NCAA college football sports betting odds.
PLAY: STANFORD +9 **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)