Will the real Stanford Cardinal please stand up? Stanford is back in the rankings at No. 21 following a big road upset of No. 6 USC last week in the Pac-12 opener and look to stay there this time around. The Cardinal were ranked 25th in the preseason poll and dropped their opener by 10 as a 10-point favorite at Northwestern. Stanford takes a five-game winning streak against the Beavers into their Pac-12 North showdown on Friday.
ODDS
Stanford opened as a 15.5-point favorite when the line hit the board. A total has yet to be posted while oddsmakers wait on word of Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan and his status.
Oregon State’s last series win came in 2009 at Reser Stadium.
KEY MISMATCH
The Beavers’ young defense will have its hands full trying to stop Christian McCaffrey, who danced around USC defenders last week for 115 yards. The sophomore running back is emerging as a star and will likely get more touches if quarterback Kevin Hogan isn’t well enough to play. McCaffrey has done it all this season, amassing 239 rushing yards and 119 receiving yards to rank fourth nationally in all-purpose yards with 195.3 per game. He’s also the team’s kick returner posting 204 yards on kickoff returns and an additional 24 yards on punt returns. San José State’s Tyler Ervin compiled 234 all-purpose yards last week against the Beavs and Michigan’s De’Veon Smith had 126 rushing and 150 all-purpose yards two weeks ago in the Big House.
KEY STAT
36.0 – Stanford’s average points in its last two games. After putting just six points on the board and failing to score a touchdown in its opener, Stanford has picked up the offensive pace in the last two. The Cardinal dropped 41 on USC last week behind a brilliant offensive showing that produced 474 yards and no turnovers. OSU allowed 56 points in its last two games and was outscored 42-0 after Michigan scored the final 35 points two weeks ago and San José State hit paydirt first last week.
BETTING ANGLE
Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan suffered a “significant” ankle sprain in last week’s upset win over USC and could miss Friday’s game, according to coach David Shaw. The injury occurred early in the second half when he was sacked. Hogan remained in the game and threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He was named the Pac-12 offensive player of the week in the 41-31 win. The loss could be huge for the Cardinal, who are trying to ride the momentum of a win over the sixth-ranked team in the country. Ryan Burns and Keller Chryst will share reps during the week, and “some combination” of the two would play if needed, Shaw said. Both backups have each attempted one pass in their college careers, compared to the 866 passes thrown by Hogan.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Head coach Gary Anderson is building for the future and the Beavers have one of the youngest teams in college football with only 13 seniors on the roster. The team is likely to take some blows while enduring growing pains and this game is likely one of those. The Beavs young defense held firm in the second half last week, limiting San José State to fewer than 100 yards and zero points in the second half while coming back from a 7-point deficit at the break to get the cover win. Stanford will be hindered by the loss of Hogan if he’s unable to play, putting the quarterbacking chores in the hands of two inexperienced underclassmen. That bodes well for the Beavers, but the Cardinal still have enough to escape with a win, though the score will be closer than people might expect.
Stanford 27, Oregon State 17
BookMaker opened the spread for this game at -15.5 in favor of the Cardinal. Now you can wager NCAA in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
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