Colorado Buffaloes at No. 7 Stanford Cardinal
Saturday, 10/8/11, 7:30 PM EST, TV: VERSUS
Opening Point Spread: Stanford -27
Current Betting Line: Stanford -29.5
Opening Total: 56.5
Current Total: 60.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Colorado is set to play its first road games as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, traveling to the Bay Area to take on Stanford. The two teams haven’t met since 1993, as this will also be the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools. The program has lost four straight against ranked teams and dropped 15 straight road games when playing such competition. The roster will also be a little light this week when first-year head coach Jon Embree suspended five defensive players indefinitely for violating team rules. Colorado is 14-14 ATS over the last two-plus seasons and the ‘over’ is 15-14 in those contests.
The Buffaloes defense hasn’t been all that bad, permitting just 20 plays of 20 or more yards this season. Colorado really needs to get off to a quick start to remain competitive in this contest, but the team has been outscored 50-13 and out-gained 717-292 in the first quarter and a half of five games to date. In the last two quarters and a half, the Buffaloes have outscored the opponent 106-96 and own a 1,520-985 edge in total offense.
Stanford will be aiming to extend the nation’s longest winning streak and the two schools have split the previous six meetings. The Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck continues to show off offensively, as everyone in the country is in awe of his talents. “I knew for a long time that if you give a quarterback something he really loves,” commented first-year head coach David Shaw. “He tries to do his best at it because he wants that opportunity to come again.” He completed 23 of 27 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns in the team’s last game against UCLA. Stanford is 17-6 ATS as a favorite the last two-plus campaigns.
The Cardinal rank seventh nationally in scoring offense, averaging 45.7 points per game, while also outscoring their last 17 opponents by a 378-117 margin in the first half. Stanford has a strong running game, averaging 197.5 yards a game, led by Stepfan Taylor going over the century mark in back-to-back contests. On the defensive side of the ball, Stanford leads the Pac-12 in five categories, including rush defense, total defense and scoring defense. The Cardinal have won eight consecutive home games at Stanford Stadium and are 19-2 inside the venue since the final home game of the 2007 season.
Bettors will likely back the Cardinal due to their 17-5 ATS mark at home, while the Buffaloes are 0-5 ATS as a road underdog of 10.5 or more points.
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