Washington-Stanford Line at Cardinal -20.5
The Washington-Stanford line was coming in at -20.5 in favor of the undefeated Cardinal at Sportsbook.com. You can bet this game here.
No. 22 Washington brings its surprising 5-1 record into Palo Alto to take on No. 7 Stanford on Saturday night.
These schools have been two of the best bets in college football, with Washington tallying five straight ATS wins and Stanford going 6-0, both SU and ATS. The Cardinal are also 5-1 (SU and ATS) in the past six meetings with UW. Huskies QB Keith Price (21 TD, 4 INT, 5th in FBS passing efficiency) has thrown at least 3 TD in all six games this year, and teammate RB Chris Polk is averaging 145 total YPG. Cardinal QB Andrew Luck (18 TD, 3 INT, 3rd in FBS passing efficiency) has had elite protection, as Stanford has allowed an FBS-low two sacks. Both teams have similar offenses, but the Cardinal have the superior defense unit. They have not allowed 20 points in a game this year, while UW has given up 23+ points in five of six contests. Stanford is 9-0 ATS following a win by 28+ points in the past two years, and Luck will further boost his Heisman stock on national TV as <b>STANFORD</b> rolls to a spread-covering victory.
The Huskies are ranked for the first time since September of 2009, and Price is the main reason why they are playing so well. He has been remarkable in conference play, completing 75% of his passes for 775 yards, 10 TD and 1 INT in three Pac-12 contests. Polk is averaging 5.4 YPC and has rushed for 100 yards in five of his six games. He only gained 60 yards on the ground against Cal, but added 85 more on the receiving end. Polk has not enjoyed playing in this series, as he has a total of 92 rushing yards on 2.9 YPC in two games against Stanford. Considering the Cardinal are allowing a paltry 59.5 rushing YPG (2nd-best in nation), it could be another long afternoon for the junior.
Defensively, Washington is allowing over 400 yards per game and has the fifth-worst passing defense in the country (304 YPG). The Huskies forced five turnovers at Utah and four against Eastern Washington, but only have three takeaways in the other four games.
Although this will be Stanford’s first ranked opponent in 2011, Luck has always risen to the occasion, leading his team to a 5-1 record against ranked teams in his career. Luck started slow in last week’s game, as his team only led Washington State 10-7 at halftime. But the junior finished with 336 yards as his team rolled to a 44-14 win with a monster second half. Most of the media’s focus is on Luck and the passing game, but Washington needs to be just as concerned about the Cardinal rushing attack. In the past three meetings (all won by Stanford), the Huskies have allowed 843 rushing yards (281 YPG). Stepfan Taylor, who gained104 yards and scored twice in last year’s 41-0 blowout in Seattle, has rushed for 423 yards and scored four times in the past four games.
The Cardinal only have five takeaways in their past five games, which makes their defensive ranks all the more impressive. They are fourth in sacks (3.8 per game), fifth in scoring defense (11.2 PPG) and 11th in Tackles.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
