The Stanford Cardinal saved any playoff hopes they had last week when they knocked off Notre Dame at the gun.
They've still got work to do and still definitively need some help, but it would behoove them to be as impressive as possible against the USC Trojans and their newly minted head coach, Clay Helton.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stanford Cardinal -3.5
USC Trojans +3.5 Over/Under 61
ODDS ANALYSIS
There hasn't been a heck of a lot of line movement yet in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Stanford has hovered right around that -3.5 or -4 range ever since the line opened up on Sunday afternoon, while the total has merely dropped a half point to 60.5 from 61.
However, there could be action yet since the news of Helton keeping the job on a permanent basis surfaced. Trojans players seem to be awfully happy about this decision, and there seems to be a rally cry around Los Angeles to get the Men of Troy to the Rose Bowl at all costs. With wins over Utah and UCLA, this seems like the next logical step in the progression.
WHEN THE STANFORD CARDINAL HAVE THE BALL
Stanford is who it is, and USC isn't going to change that any regardless of what it does defensively. The Cardinal are going to run the ball time and time again, likely at around a 2 to 1 ratio against the pass.
Christian McCaffrey totaled over 3,000 all-purpose yards this year, including a whopping 1,640 on the ground and 435 more as a receiver. He's the most dangerous man on the team, and that's saying something considering the fact that the backup running back happens to be named Barry Sanders.
Kevin Hogan can make the throws when he needs to as well, and he's going to use his tight ends more than perhaps any other team in the nation this side of Michigan (where Jim Harbaugh, former Stanford coach, is in charge).
It all makes for a really tough matchup for the Trojans. They do have a defense which can be dominant at times, and live bettors need to remember that they were amongst the favorites to win the National Championship at the start of the year for a reason.
WHEN THE USC TROJANS HAVE THE BALL
Still, if live bettors are cashing tickets on the Trojans, they're going to do so because of the offense, not the defense.
Stanford's 'D' is stout, but as 31 points allowed to this same USC team at the Coliseum proved earlier this year, it can be had.
Cody Kessler had a fantastic season, and he really did what he wanted to against the Stanford defense in the first go around. He threw three touchdowns and hooked up with his best receiver, JuJu Smith eight times for 153 yards and a score.
The ground game though, was lacking. It's not that 155 yards is all that bad, especially on just 28 carries, but Helton knows that he has to get his tailbacks the ball more often.
The key though, might be just getting on the field. The Cardinal dominated time of possession against USC, holding the ball for close to 40 minutes, including a drive which ate up seven minutes of the fourth quarter and ended in the field goal which put the game away.
We've seen Stanford do that time and time again to opponents, and it might be time for USC to finally hold the ball a little more often. The Trojans can pull off this upset for sure; they were 9.5-point favorites in the first meeting for a reason. They just need their offense to be precise and clean to do it for both straight bettors and live bettors.
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet. Click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The war between the Stanford Cardinal and USC Trojans will take place Saturday, December 5, 2015, at 7:45 p.m. ET at Levi's Stadium. The Pac-12 Championship Game will be televised on ESPN.
