The 14th ranked Stanford Cardinal had the week off to prepare for their first PAC-12 Conference game against the Southern Cal Trojans. The game is scheduled to start on Saturday, September 9th at 8:30 p.m and can be seen on FOX. Coming into this match-up the USC Trojans are -6 point favorites and the over/under rests at 55.
The Cardinal opened up their season on August 26th with a blowout 62-7 win over Rice from Australia. Fourth ranked USC, didn’t look quite as impressive in their opener on September 2nd, beating Western Michigan, 49-31. Last season, Stanford dominated the Trojans defensively with a 27-10 win at home.
(14) Stanford Cardinal (1-0)
Christian McCaffrey was one of the best players to ever play at Stanford, but Stanford relied on him too much over time. With his departure to the NFL, dynamic running back Bryce Love will take over the full-time duties at running back.
The new starter isn’t a rookie, running for 119 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. Furthermore, he rushed for 180 yards on just 13 carries with another score in the win over Rice. Also, Junior Cameron Scarlett is the bruiser tailback who added 59 yards and three touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Keller Chryst returned from a knee injury to beat out senior Ryan Burns, who threw for 1,151 yards last season. In the Land Down Under, he tossed the ball for 253 yards on 24 completions and two touchdown strikes. More importantly, he managed the game well and didn’t turn the ball over.
The wide receiving corp did it all by committee. Six different wide outs saw some action and all caught at least two balls. The top target of the night was freshman running back Connor Wedington, who caught six passes for 82 yards.
The defense wasn’t exactly tested against the Owls, but will be against the Trojans. Last season, they were strong against the pass 223.6 yards per game and sturdy against the run 144 yards per contest. Against the Owls, they gave up just 241 total yards, including 95 yards in the air. The offense also put up 656 total yards, which was the seventh-highest mark in program history.
(4) USC Trojans (1-0)
USC sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold came into this season with pressure on his shoulders to be the first pick in the NFL Draft in 2018. He also is expected to compete against for the Heisman Trophy.
However, his first start this season included two interceptions and no touchdowns for the first time during the Trojans’ 10-game winning streak dating back to last year. Sam Darnold did pass for 289 yards and ran for a score in a game where the USC needed to rally from a second-half deficit in the 99-degree heat to win.
Speedy running back Ronald Jones II ran 37 yards for the tie-breaking touchdown with under seven minutes to play. As a result, he led to lead the Trojans to the 49-31 win. Overall, Jones rushed for 159 yards and three trips to pay-dirt. Also, freshman Stephen Carr added 69 yards rushing and two scores. The game was tied 21-21 at the end of three quarters and Southern Cal put up 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Wide receiver Deontay Burnett hopes to become the next best receiver at USC. He got off to the right start against the Broncos on Saturday. Although he didn’t find his way to the end zone, he did reel in seven catches for 142 yards. Unfortunately, no other wide out caught more than two passes on the day.
USC needs to shore up their rushing defense before they can live up to their fourth ranking in the country. To their dismay, they gave up 263 yards on the ground to a team from the MAC Conference. Also, the Broncos were playing with a new quarterback Jon Wassink and new coach Tim Lester. Lastly, stellar wide out Corey Davis has moved on to the NFL. Last season’s run defense gave up 139.6 yards per game but a lot of talent returned and expectations are high for an improved defense.
Prediction
Las Vegas has the Stanford Cardinal as a six point dog heading into the Colliseum to play the Trojans. I like this figure and am suggesting the readers to play it. I believe that Mr. Love will give plenty of it to his fans on Saturday. He may not be Christian McCaffrey but he is pretty darn effective. Besides, until the Trojans show me they can stop a rushing game, I won’t bet against a team like the Cardinal.
Sam Darnold needs to come out and have a great game for USC to be able to win this game. He very well might. Just because he was a little off in the opener, doesn’t mean he will be again against Stanford. He’s just too good. With that being said, I still think the Cardinal offense will control the ball with their running game and limit his effectiveness in the game.
Odds makers also have the game’s total at 55 and I also think the over comes into play here. I realize that Stanford’s defense is pretty good but USC is at home and should find a way to score in the high 20’s to low 30’2. Altogether, the two schools will push that over/under past 55. So, take your pick or picks in this PAC-12 showdown and enjoy the prime time football on FOX.
Trends
The Cardinal are 21-10 ATS in their last 31 games overall.
The Cardinal are 41-20-1 ATS in their last 62 conference games.
The Over is 4-1 in the Cardinal last 5 games overall.
The Under is 4-1 in the Cardinal last 5 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game.
The Trojans are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
The Trojans are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games.
The Under is 5-2 in the Trojans last 7 home games.
The Under is 7-3 in the Trojans last 10 games overall.
The Underdog is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 meetings.
The Road team is 9-4 ATS in their last 13 meetings.
Join the Rainmaker and myself for our 5th addition of our NCAA College Football Throwdown Podcast on September 7th. We will be previewing all the upcoming games for Week Two and discussing the contest’s spreads and totals. We also will be giving our dog picks of the week as well as in-depth coverage of some of the weekend’s biggest games.
As of now, I’m cranking out winners at a 58 percent clip for the getmoresports.com readers and hope to push that over the 60 percent mark by the weekend’s end. Again, come join us for some valuable betting advice that could directly effect your pocket books come Monday.
