Can the Stanford Cardinal actually fall to 1-3 on the year? The Cardinal dropped consecutive road games against USC and San Diego State after opening with a dominating win over Rice in Australia in late August. Those two losses put Stanford in a bad position and pretty much eradicated its national title hopes. The UCLA Bruins dropped a tough one to Memphis on the road this week and will look to kick off Pac 12 play on the right foot here.
This contest in Week 4 of the regular season will go down Saturday, September 23, 2017, at 10
p.m. ET at Folsom Field in Boulder, Stanford. This game will be broadcast on FS1.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
UCLA +7.5
Stanford -7.5
Over/Under 63.5
Odds Analysis
You can’t make the over/under high enough in UCLA games this season. Having Josh Rosen under center means the Bruins can score on anyone in the country, but unfortunately their defense has barely stopped anyone either. This team was only able to somewhat contain Hawaii, but Texas A&M and Memphis tore this defense apart. UCLA is just 1-2 ATS this season with the one cover coming against the Rainbow Warriors.
The Cardinal have to be red hot mad entering this game. The offense has sputtered in each of the last two weeks and quarterback Keller Chryst has not been good. Chryst only completed 45 percent of his passes against San Diego State last week and averaged a scant 3.6 yards per pass attempt. His two interceptions against San Diego State proved costly too in the loss.
Money has come in on the Cardinal and pushed the line from 6.5 to 7.5 in just a little over a day.
Player to Watch
Josh Rosen is just special. He keeps his team close in every game despite having an offensive line that is unable to protect him much of the time. Rosen came into the season overshadowed by USC’s Sam Darnold, but has shined through with his performances.
He is averaging 9.2 yards per completion and his 13-2 touchdown to interception ratio is great. Rosen is a gunslinger in every sense of the word. He thinks he can complete every pass and thread every needle and that’s exactly what you want out of him.
Rosen has been right so far. There isn’t much talent around him, but he continues to will his team to success. He is a traditional drop back passer in a world increasingly tailored to dual-threat quarterbacks and that makes him a rare breed.
Matchup to Watch
Bryce Love and Stanford can’t wait to go against this defensive front. The Bruins are giving up 275 rushing yards per game at this point, a shocking total considering the teams they have played.
Their defensive line gets pushed back too easily and injuries have played a role too. Some of UCLA’s key members in this front seven are banged up and might not play again versus Stanford. That would be huge for the Bruins.
For his part, Love has been incredible. Tbe star running back is somehow averaging 175 yards on the ground per game and 12.2 yards per carry. Those numbers are just stupid and he will definitely fall down to Earth, but for now, he is enjoying the ride.
Free ATS Pick
The over might be a real good bet in this one. Stanford usually has a great defense, but the unit has not been good the last two games. Meanwhile, UCLA still doesn’t play defense and Rosen is good enough that the Bruins typically settle for a shootout if it can.
A backdoor cover sounds about right here. Stanford will be in front of the number for much of the way, but Rosen will lead a late comeback to get the Bruins the cover.
College Football Odds: Cardinal 38, Bruins 34
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