Stanford Cardinal (3-0 SU, 2-1 ATS) vs. Oregon Ducks (3-0 SU, 0-3 ATS)
College Football Week 4
Date/Time: Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 8PM EDT
Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
TV: ABC
By Loot, NCAA Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: STAN -2/ORE +2
Over/Under Total: 55
In a big Pac-12 matchup between 3-0 teams, the Stanford Cardinal come to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks. Both teams are ranked entering a matchup that has a lot of potential implications. The Ducks haven't been good at the betting windows, but are nice and dug-in at home, with this being their fourth straight home game to open the season. This is their conference opener. The Cardinal have proven to be better than many anticipated, impressive en route to a 3-0 mark. But after three games at home, they face a tough road opener here.
It's fair to say the Cardinal are more-tested through three weeks of the college football season. They opened the season with a big win over a tough San Diego State team, before easily beating USC the following week. Week three was a more-routine win over FCS foe UC Davis. It makes one wonder why in the preseason not a ton of people were discussing Stanford when talking about Pac-12 contenders. That's not the case now, with the Cardinal looking really strong.
Stanford's success this season hasn't come from an expected source. With Bryce Love returning having gained more yards the previous season than any college back in history, many figured Stanford might be one-dimensional, over-relying on their star back. And so far this season, they have thrived in every way other than getting Love to explode. He missed the Davis game with a knee issue, but is expected to play this week. And he's overdue to have one of his typical performances, which would be bad news for the Ducks.
DEPOSIT $100 AND GET $50 FREE TO BET THE STANFORD-OREGON GAME AT ONE OF THE WEB'S OLDEST SPORTSBOOKS: BOVADA SPORTSBOOK
We see growth in other areas of the Stanford approach. Quarterback KJ Costello has been very good, connecting well with his different weapons. We knew JJ Arcega-Whiteside was good, but he's looking like one of the better receivers in the country through three weeks. So it looks like they're building different facets to their approach, but lying in wait is Love and it will be interesting to see what this offense can do with Love getting untracked.
It was understandable when people discussed how the Cardinal defense would be struggling this season. Departing key players and a slow learning curve for some youngsters pointed to at least a slight downturn. Through three weeks, it just hasn't been seen on the field. In week one, a powerful Aztecs run-game, the same one that shredded them last season, was kept in check. The Trojans only managed three points of scoring in week two, so early signs are certainly promising. They look to get tested to a higher degree this week against the more stable Oregon offense.
Oregon has the same W-L record as Stanford, with the route to that mark being a bit divergent. The Ducks are off to a good start with head coach Mario Cristobal, who is in his first full season as head coach. They have not covered, with wins over Bowling Green, Portland State, and San Jose State last week. They are ranked and not without hope, with QB Justin Herbert and a lot of talent around him. You see some veteran contributors like Tony Brooks-James and Taj Griffin, with interesting youngsters on both sides of the ball. But alas, things get serious this week after three less-than-demanding games.
At the end of the day, no Pac-12 team gets judged by games against non-conference rift-raft, but there were some points of concern in the first three weeks for the Ducks. Beating San Jose by 13 last week is not a good sign, considering how bad the Spartans are and how they got beaten by UC Davis of all teams in a week one meltdown. You could make the case that if Oregon were the goods, they'd be giving teams like San Jose a more royal type of beating. But maybe they were just looking ahead a little bit.
Be that as it may, one can understand the lack of enthusiasm on the part of some concerning Oregon. They are 11-14 in the last two seasons while being in a steady state of decline. They have flashed some remarkably-awful defensive showings in recent seasons where no amount of points scored is safe enough. They have opened the season 3-0, but their opposition and how they have played in some of those games have some still a bit suspicious.
A position on Stanford can be justified on many levels. There is a more verifiable track record from this young season upon which to base their excellence. With Oregon, we just don't know yet. However, I think that Stanford may have been made to look a bit better than they really are. In addition, Eugene in this spot might be a really tough road assignment for Stanford. I see Oregon giving Stanford a run in this one, with their status as a home-dog having some nice upside betting appeal. I'm going with the Ducks.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting on the Oregon Ducks plus two points. Bet the Stanford vs. Oregon game for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
