Stanford Cardinal at California Golden Bears
Saturday, 11/20/10, 12:30 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: Stanford -8
Current Betting Line: Stanford -6.5
Opening Total: 52
Current Total: 50
Current Moneyline: Stanford -250 / California +210
Stanford comes in No. 7 in the country and will face the Cal Golden Bears in the 113th Big Game on Saturday. The Cardinal are winners of five straight and off to its best start since 1951, coming off a 17-13 victory over Arizona State last week. It’s probably the easiest game to coach,” said head coach Jim Harbaugh. “Nothing more needs to be said about it.” His team has lost seven of eight to California since Jeff Tedford took over and hasn’t won in Berkeley since 2000. Stanford has posted a 4-1 record on the road this season, tallying two shutouts against UCLA (35-0) and Washington (41-0). Excluding the loss at Oregon, the defense has allowed just three offensive touchdowns in its four other road contests. The team is 3-1 ATS as a road favorite of 3.5 to 7 points and the college football lines page shows that the line has fallen into this range.
The Cardinal scored a season low 17 points against Arizona State, but are still averaging 39.80 points a game, which ranks second in the Pac-10 and ninth nationally. The 398 points score on the season is currently the fourth-highest single-season total in school history. Stanford has been incredibly effective in putting away games in the first half, outscoring opponents by a 233-78 margin. With its offense getting plenty of accolades, the defense has posted some incredible numbers of its own. The unit ranks fourth in the conference in total defense and is third in scoring defense.
California knows that both teams have a tremendous amount to play for in this contest and the program looks to extend its school-record bowl run to eight consecutive years. The Golden Bears have a great shot at the upset due to compiling a 37-7 record in their last 44 games at Memorial Stadium. In home games this season, Cal has averaged 40.4 points while yielding 9.8. “If I had a magical answer, we would have taken care of that a long time ago, but we’re at home this week,” said Tedford about his team performing better in Berkeley. The squad is 13-3 ATS at home over the past three seasons.
The Golden Bears have been led by a defense that paces the conference in total defense and ranks 10th nationally in giving up just 301.3 yards per game. That unit will be tested in a big way versus a team that is second in the Pac-10 and 17th in the nation in running the football. Don’t expect this program to be intimidated by playing a high-ranking opponent, as it has posted a 13-16 record when playing 29 nationally ranked teams in the Tedford era.
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Cardinal are 3-0-1 ATS as a road favorite of 3.5 to 10 points, while the Golden Bears are 7-3 ATS as a home underdog of 3.5 to 10 points.
Don’t miss out on a huge Saturday and let the college football handicappers at Maddux Sports go to work for you!
