There’s no doubt what the premier game of Friday night is. The Stanford Cardinal have been one of the best teams in college football this decade with a 66-15 record. This may be the most vulnerable Stanford team we’ve seen yet though. Aside from Christian McCaffrey, this side doesn’t return much talent in 2016 and will have an extremely inexperienced quarterback at the helm. Bill Snyder and the Kansas State Wildcats will certainly give them a game in Week 1 of college football.
This matchup in Week 1 of the regular season will take place on Friday, September 2, 2016,
at 9 p.m. ET at Stanford Stadium on FS1.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stanford -15.5
Kansas State +15.5
Over/Under 50
Odds Analysis
No line movement has been noticed since the opening odds came out with either the spread or the total. That might be because both Stanford and Kansas State lost a lot of their starters from last season and gamblers are taking a wait and see approach here.
Player to Watch
You know who the Player to Watch is in this game. McCaffrey broke the record for all-purpose yards in a season last year as a true sophomore and now returns for one more season before he plays on Sundays. He is able to affect every aspect of the game with his running ability and it’s almost impossible for any defense to completely shut him down.
There aren’t many running backs that can handle the workload he does. McCaffrey tallied 444 touches over 14 games last season, a massive amount for anyone in this day and age. There are valid concerns that Stanford is overusing him, but he may get even more touches this season with most of the other playmakers around him last year gone.
Coaching Angle
There’s not a coach around that can do more with less than Bill Snyder. Snyder is an institution in Manhattan, with more wins as head coach than all previous coaches combined at Kansas State, and an ability to build a scheme out of his players’ skillsets. Traditionally the key has been his JUCO recruits, but he has become a better traditional recruiter lately as the JUCO talent in the state has dried up.
Last season, he had to put together one of his most patchwork jobs yet. Starter Jesse Ertz went down in the season opener and the quarterbacks left on the roster were dreadful. Neither Joe Hubener or Kody Cook was able to complete more than 50 percent of their passes and the offense had to become one-dimensional as a result. With Ertz back and healthy this season, Snyder will have much more up his sleeve against Stanford.
Free ATS Pick
Don’t let Kansas State’s 6-6 record last year mislead you. The Wildcats hung tough with the best teams in the Big 12, losing by just one score to TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma State despite their woeful offense. Since returning to coach, Snyder has made bettors a lot of money off people underestimating him and holds a 53-36-1 ATS record over the past seven seasons.
Normally the under might be a solid play between these two teams, but there are a lot of questions defensively for both sides and Kansas State could be in a lot of shootouts this season. The Wildcats allowed 6.2 yards per play in 2015 and if you take out the first two games of the season against South Dakota and UTSA, those numbers look a lot worse.
Stanford will get the win here, but it will be hard-fought and close throughout. McCaffrey will make a play or two and that will be enough to give Stanford a single score victory. The over is almost as good of a play and should warrant a wager as well.
College Football Odds: Cardinal 34, Wildcats 28
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