Stanford Cardinal at UCLA Bruins, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Saturday, September 11, 2010, 10:30 pm EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Stanford -8
Current Line: Stanford -6
Opening Total: 53 1/2
Current Total: 52 1/2
Money Line: Stanford -250 / UCLA +210
Bookmaker Sportsbook and Racebook provided us with the line and total information from above.
The Cardinal and the Bruins renew their rivalry this week in the Rose Bowl in the Pac-10 conference opener for both teams. Last week UCLA traveled to Kansas St and lost 31-22. Stanford thumped Sacramento St 52-17 at home.
Coach Jim Harbaugh led Stanford to a win over cupcake Sacramento St. Quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 316 yards and 4 touchdowns in a sterling performance. The Cardinal also added 202 rushing yards as they racked up 529 total yards. The Orange used a running back by committee as 4 players had at least 5 carries. Even safety Alex Loukas had two carries out of the wildcat formation for 57 yards. The Cardinal had 3 different players score a rushing touchdown. Their balanced attack will be difficult for teams to defend against. The Cardinal did lose two fumbles but it didn’t really matter against the Hornets from Sac St. On defense, the Cardinal only gave up 167 total yards. One of the Hornets scores was on a punt return in the first quarter. And the other two occurred in the second half when the Cardinal had the game well in hand.
UCLA made the trip to Manhattan, Kansas to play Kansas St. The game was close throughout and UCLA had a chance to tie it up but missed a two point conversion with about a minute to play. On the next play from scrimmage, Kansas St scored on a 35 yard touchdown run from Daniel Thomas. The Wildcats ended up winning 31-22. The Bruins led at halftime 10-7 but had too many defensive lapses in the second half getting outscored 24-12. Kevin Prince was not very good at quarterback for the Bruins throwing for only 120 yards, a touchdown pass and two interceptions. Prince did carry the ball 12 times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Most the Bruins offense was on the ground as they rushed for 193 yards, led by running back Johnathan Franklin with 60 yards. On defense, were excellent against the pass giving up only 64 yards and a touchdown pass. However the Bruins inability to contain the Wildcat running game led to their demise. Running back Daniel Thomas ran wild for 234 yards and two touchdowns. William Powell added 72 yards and a touchdown of his own as the Wildcats ran for over 300 yards.
Prince was banged up last week against Kansas St. re-injuring the same shoulder he sprained and separated against USC last year. He is expected to start against Stanford but bettors will want to monitor the situation. UCLA also needs to stop the run much better than they did against Kansas St, but if they key only on the run Andrew Luck will pick them apart. It is kind of a Catch-22 for the Bruins. The Bruins have serious questions int heir front 7 and it is unlikely they will figure it out in time for the Cardinal this week. When the Bruins take the field on offense they need to watch out for outside linebacker Thomas Keiser who has 15 sacks in 25 college games. It should be an exciting game between two long time rivals.
We personally layed -5 on this game after we thought the line had gone down as low as it would go. The line is back up to -6 now and we feel there is still value on the Cardinal at that number. That is our free college football prediction on this game, but there are other stronger picks on the board and we have isolated 6 plays so far on the Saturday card. Get these winners by visiting our college football handicapping page and stuff your wallet this Saturday.
