Sports betting players didn’t expect Stanford to challenge for the Pac-10 title, but the Cardinal are still right there as they head into their Saturday night clash with California, who are looking to end a disappointing season on a high note.
California vs Stanford odds – Saturday, November 21, 8:00 PM ET
Cal (7-3, 4-3) bear Arizona 24-16 at home by scoring nine points in the final 4:46, and Shane Vereen stepped in for the injured Javhid Best quite nicely, running for 159 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. Kevin Riley was 13-of-22 for 181 yards, a touchdown and two picks, while Giorgio Tavecchio added four field goals for the Golden Bears, who were supposed to be one of the top teams in the conference before midseason beatdowns at the hands of USC and Oregon.
A week after blowing out Oregon at home, the Cardinal (7-2, 6-2) went to Los Angeles and throttled USC 55-21 in a result that no one in the world of NCAA football odds saw coming. Toby Gerhart was having a great year before, but people are taking notice after he lit up the Trojans for 178 yards and three scores on 29 carries. Andrew Luck was 12-of-22 for 144 yards and two touchdowns, while the Stanford defense forced four turnovers.
The Cardinal are 81st in the nation in defense, but if they keep getting performances like that, they may overcome the NCAA football odds and reach the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000.
NCAA football odds in your sportsbook have the Cardinal as a 7.5-point favorite at home, where they are 5-0 this year. The Golden Bears have a 6-3-1 record against Stanford in their last 10 meetings (they tied 30-30 in 2000 at Cal), but they fell 20-13 in their last trip here in 2007. This looks like it’ll be a shootout as neither defense cracks the top 70 nationally, while the offenses are in the top 35 in terms of scoring.
The running backs will be the story as Vereen and Gerhart open up the field for their quarterbacks. With Stanford averaging 53 points in their last two games, go with the Cardinal.
Bet on sports: Stanford -7.5
