Stanford vs Arizona College Football Odds

Written October 15, 2009 by Kyle Hunter

Both Stanford and Arizona have improved from a year ago, but both come into this game with something to prove. Stanford was beaten quite handily last weekend at Oregon State and Arizona lost on a questionable fluke play to Washington in the final minutes 36-33. How will these teams respond from the disappointment? The mental strength of both teams will be tested this coming Saturday.

Arizona thinks it should be 4-1 right now, but the reality is they are juts 3-2 and 1-1 in the Pac 10. Their loss last weekend at Washington is one of the toughest losses you will ever see. It will be up to coach Mike Stoops to rally the troops and make sure they give 100% effort again this weekend. Nick Foles has stepped in and done a very nice job at quarterback for the Wildcats, completing 72% of his passes and throwing only 2 interceptions so far this season. Nicholas Grigsby has also been a nice surprise at the tailback spot, averaging 7.6 yards per carry this season. The Wildcats have a very balanced offense, which suits them very well when matching up against tough Pac 10 opponents. The Arizona defense has been decent, but not terrific. The defense is giving up 23.6 points per game, but their yards per game given up are only 282. It seems the Wildcat defense has had a tough time keeping opposing offenses out of the end zone once they enter the red zone. Get into this college football betting season with a monster $500 match bonus from BetUS.

Stanford and Coach Jim Harbaugh are definitely building the program back up to a much more formidable level after being a doormat for several years. The team is 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in the Pac 10. The clear leader of the offense is running back Toby Gerhart, who has been a real work horse for the team. Gerhart has 140 carries in six games and averages more than 5 yards per carry. Also helping out the offense is the ability of freshman quarterback Andrew Luck. He has had some freshman struggles, but for the most part he has done a very good job guiding the team and taking care of the football. Luck will be a force in the Pac 10 once he gets some more experience under center. The Stanford defense has shown some vulnerability, especially to the pass. The defense has done a good job minimizing other team’s scoring though, holding opponents to just 20.3 points per game.

Arizona comes into this game as a 4.5 point home favorite according to the latest college football spreads. The posted total set for this Pac 10 battle is 54 points. The Wildcats are 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 at home, but Stanford is 7-3 in their last 10 games overall against the spread. The under is 5-0 in the last 5 matchups between these two teams.

Look for Stanford to try to establish the run and control the ball, while Arizona will probably open up the offense a little more. The home crowd could be the difference in this game. I’m expecting Arizona to come back and be ready to play for the entire game after losing in such a difficult play a week ago. Arizona is the pick to cover in this one.

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