NCAAF picks: After a week of being in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons the USC Trojans were in the headlines Sunday morning for all of the right reasons after taking apart Fresno State 52-13 in dominant fashion making new head coach Steve Sarkisian’s debut a big success. The Stanford Cardinal flexed their muscles last week in a 45-0 blowout over 1-AA UC Davis that revealed little about their ability to play with teams such as USC in 2014. The Stanford Cardinal will host the USC Trojans on Saturday at Stanford Stadium with coverage on ABC starting at 3:30 PM ET.
Mighty Conquest for Men of Troy
USC utterly destroyed Fresno State with a 701-317 advantage for total yards and had a 37-17 first down edge. QB Cody Kessler had a phenomenal start to the season passing for 394 yards and 4 TD’s. Fresno State was one of the better non-power five teams last year and was rendered helpless by the Trojans. The one concern will be a public overreaction to the game causing a potential overlay and drop of board value for USC.
Defending Champs Do as Expected
Stanford’s big win over UC Davis was a case of doing exactly what they should have done as they dominated with a 461-115 total yards advantage and had a 21-6 first down edge. QB Kevin Hogan was razor sharp passing for 12/16 good for 204 yards and three TD’s. Stanford has seven starters back on a defense that has been among the best in the nation against the rush but susceptible to the pass.
Matchup and Pick!
USC has been a poor board value as of late on the road with just three payouts in their last 13 away games with nine out of their last 14 road games going over the total. Stanford has come away with the money in six out of their last eleven home games with five out of their last nine home games going under the total. Stanford has had solid control of the cashier’s cage in this head to head series with seven payouts in their last ten games with USC as eight out of the last 12 games between the Cardinal and Trojans have gone over the total. Based on USC’s struggles both on the road and against the Cardinal we’ll call for the proven champion Stanford in this one!
