Stanford at Washington

Written by Steve Janus

This Saturday the No.13 Stanford Cardinal will host the Washington Huskies in Pac-10 action. The Cardinal struggled to put away an improving Washington State team last week, winning 38-28 at home, while the Cougars got blown out on the road by Arizona, losing 44-14. Stanford has won four of five against Washington, including a 34-14 win last year. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current college football odds have the Cardinal favored by 7.5-points over the Huskies on the road.

Stanford (6-1, 3-1 Pac-10): Even though the Cardinal didn’t play their best game against the Cougars last Saturday, they did enough for the win. Quarterback Andrew Luck completed 20 of 28 attempts for 190 yards and three touchdowns, the fourth time this season he has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game, and running back Stepfan Taylor carried it 27 times for 142 yards and two scores.

Defensively the Cardinal really struggled against the pass, as Washington State quarterback Jake Tuel completed 21 of 28 for 298 yards and four touchdowns, but did have two interceptions that really kept the Cougars from making it close. While I’m sure head coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t pleased with the defense allowing three fourth quarter touchdowns, it’s hard to get too upset about a win.

Offensively the Cardinal should have no trouble moving the ball against the Huskies, as they come in allowing 424 yards of total offense and just over 33 points a game this season. If the defense shows up this should be a blowout win for Stanford, but if they struggle, especially against the pass, this game could turn into a shootout.

Washington (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10): After an impressive 35-34 double-overtime win over Oregon State the previous week, the Huskies came out flat and had no chance against a good Arizona team. Despite two first half touchdowns, the Cougars trailed 30-14 at half and it didn’t get any better in the second half, as the Huskies failed to put any more points on the board.

Quarterback Jake Locker was harassed all night by the Wildcats defense, and it resulted in some pretty average numbers, as Locker completed 17 of 29 attempts for just 183 yards and a touchdown. Locker continues to battle soreness in his ribs, but there are no signs of him missing this game. Running back Chris Polk led Washington with 65 yards on 14 carries, as the Huskies managed just 98 yards on the ground.

While the offense should be able to move the ball against the Cardinal defense this Saturday, the question is can they do enough offensively to keep it close. Stanford is going to score a ton of points in this game, and the only way for Washington to pull out the win, is to score even more.

Looking at the Odds: I actually believe the late touchdowns by Washington State really helped out the odds for this game, as I could easily see Stanford coming in as a 13-point favorite with a blowout win last week. There is no question that your money should be on the Cardinal -8, as they are going to light up the scoreboard against Washington’s pathetic defense, and while they will give up some points, the Cardinal defense is good enough to keep the Huskies in check. My final score prediction is Stanford 47, Washington 34.

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