The Stanford Cardinal have already lost a Pac-12 game, so when they play the Washington Huskies this Saturday, they know they can’t fall two games behind the Oregon Ducks.
Stanford Cardinal @ Washington Huskies
Saturday, September 27th – 4:15 PM ET
Odds: Stanford -7
Why The Cardinal Will Cover
They have a defense they can trust. Stanford was viewed to be vulnerable on defense coming into this season, since coach David Shaw lost the players that had enabled the Cardinal to make two straight Rose Bowls and four straight Bowl Championship Series games in a four-season span. Shayne Skov, Trent Murphy, Ben Gardner, and others helped Stanford become a defensive menace for other teams in the Pac-12. When those players ran out of eligibility and had to move on, Stanford seemed to be in trouble on defense. However, that really hasn’t been the case this season. New players have stepped up along the front four and in the linebacker corps to make things happen for Stanford. The Cardinal allowed only 13 points to USC in a loss that was not the defense’s fault at all. Stanford then shut out Army and has basically looked very strong since the beginning of the season on defense. With Washington’s offense being very inconsistent in September, struggling against Hawaii and then continuing to have problems in the first half of this past weekend’s game against Georgia State, the Huskies might not be ready to face the challenge provided by Stanford’s defense. Washington’s offensive line in particular has not displayed the ability to go up against a very powerful defensive line and come out of the fight intact. Washington’s only complete performance on offense came against a team from the Football Championship Subdivision, Eastern Washington, in week two. There’s really nothing to indicate that Washington is ready to stand up to Stanford up front.
Why The Huskies Will Cover
They are playing at home against a team with a mediocre offense. Stanford did something that’s very hard to do in week two of the season. Playing at home and controlling USC’s offense, Stanford seemed to be in position to win that game. When a team holds an opponent to 13 points as Stanford did against USC, it expects to win. In addition to allowing a small number of points, Stanford’s offense moved the ball inside the USC 30-yard line on nine separate drives. When you look at that statistic, a team that moves the ball inside an opponent’s 30 nine different times does not even need a touchdown to win a game against an opponent that scores 13 points. If Stanford had simply scored a field goal five of the nine times it moved the ball inside the USC 30, it would have had 15 points. However, Stanford scored only 10 points on those nine drives. The Cardinal have trouble finishing plays, and part of this is the result of no longer having dependable running back Tyler Gaffney in the backfield. If the Cardinal can’t come up with a running game, they’re going to lose outright.
Outlook
Stanford probably won’t run the ball that well, but on the other hand, Washington’s offensive line should get outplayed by Stanford’s defensive line. Stanford will probably win, but these two offenses are so limited that the game will remain close throughout, enabling Washington to cover.
Pick: Washington +7
