The Stanford Cardinal (-4.5) aren’t traveling far to face their Pac-12 rival UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl. The afternoon matchup is scheduled to get going at 3:00 p.m. ET and Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the action.
Stanford Cardinal vs. UCLA Bruins Betting Preview
UCLA is the home underdog in this Pac-12 game and is currently receiving 4.5 points. In order to take the favorite, moneyline bettors would currently have to put down $200 to net $100 back on the Cardinal (-200). The Bruins are getting +170 moneyline odds. Should one squad finds paydirt early it’ll result in a nice live betting opportunity. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 56 points.
The game’s O/U has yet to move after it was set initially at 56. Having said that, the opening line was 7 and square bettors are hammering the Bruins.
The Cardinal are 6-4 against the spread (ATS) and have lost 1.3 units this season. The team has posted an O/U record of 6-3. The disappointing Bruins have lost 7.8 units in 2018. The team is 5-6 ATS and has an O/U record of 5-6.
The Cardinal are 6-4 straight up (SU), including 4-3 SU against Pac-12 opponents. The Bruins are 3-8 SU overall and 3-5 SU in conference play.
The Cardinal are coming off a resounding 48-17 victory over Oregon State on November 10. K.J. Costello completed 23-of-33 passes for 342 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Bryce Love (90 rushing yards on 11 attempts, one TD) mounted the ground attack in the win while Trenton Irwin (six receptions, 70 yards) and Colby Parkinson (six catches, 166 yards, four TDs) handled the receiving duties.
UCLA just put together a 34-27 win over USC. The defense allowed the Trojans to pass for 337 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 112 yards. Michael Pittman Jr. was a bright spot in the defeat for USC, recording 106 yards on seven catches. For UCLA, Wilton Speight completed 13-of-22 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Joshua Kelley (289 yards on 40 rush attempts, two TDs) led the ground game in the win as Theo Howard (five receptions, 76 yards, one TD) and Caleb Wilson (four catches, 63 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Stanford’s run the ball on 45.5 percent of its offensive possessions this year while UCLA has an overall rush percentage of 53.8 percent. The Cardinal have produced 108 rush yards/game (including 120 per game against Pac-12 opponents) and have 12 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Bruins are totaling 163 rush yards per game (176 in conference) and have 16 total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Cardinal should own an edge along both the offensive and defensive fronts, since their offensive line has allowed only 17 sacks while the D-line registered 32 sacks. The Bruins O-line has allowed 29 sacks and their defense has recorded only 22 sacks.
The Cardinal offensive scheme has averaged 286 yards in the air overall (306 per game versus conference opposition) and has 23 passing TDs so far. The Bruins have put up 217 pass yards per contest (227.5 in the Pac-12) and have 13 total pass scores.
Defensively, Stanford has allowed 147 rush yards and 263 pass yards per game. The UCLA defense has allowed 236.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 206.1 yards per game on the ground. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Cardinal have given up an ANY/A of 6.26 to opposing QBs, while the Bruins are yielding an ANY/A of 6.70.
Offensively, Costello is up to 2,507 passing yards on the year, and has completed 67 percent of his 287 attempts with 21 scores through the air and seven interceptions. He has a pristine 8.32 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 8.05 over the last two games.
Colby Parkinson (331 receiving yards, seven receiving touchdowns on the year), Bryce Love (509 rush yards, four rush TDs) and Kaden Smith (528 receiving yards, one TD) have each played big roles lately.
Wilton Speight has connected on 71-of-126 passes for 726 yards, four TDs and four INTs for UCLA. His ANY/A stands at an ultra-pedestrian 4.51 for the year and 7.43 over his past two outings.
Similar to the Cardinal, expect a balanced approach offensively from UCLA this Saturday. Joshua Kelley, Caleb Wilson and Theo Howard have combined to account for 733 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns over the last couple of games.
These two teams faced off last year with the final result being a 58-34 win for Stanford.
RELATED: Week 13 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
NCAA Prediction: Stanford Cardinal at UCLA Bruins
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Notes
Team Betting Notes
The Stanford defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 25 times this year. UCLA has registered just 15 sacks.
UCLA has lost six fumbles this season while Stanford has lost three.
Each team has produced six pass plays of 40 or more yards. The Cardinal have have made 15 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Bruins have accounted for 11 such plays.
The Stanford defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 or more yards, while UCLA has given up 10 such plays.
The Stanford offense has created 11 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while UCLA has created 16 such runs.
The Cardinal defense has allowed 12 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Bruins have given up nine such runs.
The O/U for UCLA’s previous game was set at 55. The over cashed in the 34-27 triumph over USC.
Over its last three matches, UCLA is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Over its last three matches, Stanford is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in each of those three.
The O/U for Stanford’s previous game was set at 61.5. The over cashed in the team’s 48-17 victory over Oregon State.
As a team, Stanford has produced 5.8 yards per carry over its past three contests and 6.1 over its last two.
UCLA has averaged 5.2 yards per carry over its last three outings and 5.1 over its past two.
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