Two high-powered offenses will dictate this one as the California Golden Bears (6-4) take on the Stanford Cardinal (8-2). The Pac-12’s second-leading rusher, Christian McCaffrey (1,354 yards, 7 TDs), and the second-leading passer, Jared Goff (3,319 yards, 30 TDs), will be featured in this contest. California comes into this game looking to get back on track. While the team had their share of success this season, it has struggled as of late, having lost four straight. The game will begin Saturday, Nov 21 at 10:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
In last week’s game, Stanford suffered a narrow defeat against Oregon 38-36. Greg Taboada had a quality performance in the loss, catching two passes for seven yards and two TDs. Michael Rector had a big game as well, totaling 103 receiving yards on eight receptions. California is hoping for another victory like last week’s performance, when it easily got past Oregon State 54-24. Jared Goff had a huge game passing the ball for the Golden Bears, connecting on 26 of 37 pass attempts for 453 yards, six TDs and one interception. Maurice Harris had a great game as well, adding 97 receiving yards and two TDs on four catches.
Stanford is a 12-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable.
Sitting at 8-2 Straight Up (SU) and 7-3 Against The Spread (ATS), the Cardinal will look to improve heading into Week 12. In the past five games, Stanford is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Cardinal have America’s 16th-ranked running attack with 225 yards per game. The Stanford pass defense has played at another level the past five games. It has given up 230.0 passing yards per game during that span. Keep an eye on Stanford to turn it up a notch during the second quarter, when it averages 11.3 points per game. Stanford is one of the leading teams in time of possession. They hold on to the ball an average of 36:54 per game.
In the other locker room, the Golden Bears have a record of 5-5 ATS and 6-4 SU. The Golden Bears went 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS over the last five games. California has found a lot of success through the air. Its 348.1 passing yards per game ranks 10th in Division I. The Golden Bears have a habit of starting the second half with the proper adjustments in place. They average 12.8 points during the third quarter, ranking second in Division I.
Predictions: SU Winner – Stanford, ATS Winner – Stanford
Notes
Stanford is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games.
Stanford is 21-4 SU in its last 25 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Stanford’s last 6 games at home.
Stanford is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing California.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Stanford’s last 7 games when playing California.
Stanford is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against California.
Stanford is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against California.
California is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Stanford.
California is 6-0 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Stanford is 7-0 SU when leading at the end of the third quarter.
Stanford is an even 2-2 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (3-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
The California defense has forced an average of 2.4 turnovers per game this season, but Stanford is 4-2 SU when turning the ball over at least 2.0 times in a game.
Among all FBS teams, the Stanford offensive passing game is ranked 70th nationally, while the California pass defense is only ranked 98th. The Golden Bears passing attack is ranked 10th, compared to the 54th-ranked pass defense of the Cardinal.
