The USC Trojans beat the odds to win at Notre Dame but Saturday night offers a rather different challenge. They face the unbeaten Stanford Cardinal in the Coliseum and Al Dannity doesn’t like their chances.
Confidence inspiring win Last Saturday night caught me off guard. The Fighting Irish were dominated by the Trojans as they finally showed life under Lane Kiffin’s tutelage. The importance of this win can’t be over-stated. USC hadn’t won a game of this significance during Kiffin’s year and a half in charge and it’s going to be harder to pick up signature wins once the loss of scholarships starts to kick in. By no means is it safe to say the Trojans are back but that win will ensure hope stays in the program throughout the dark days that lie ahead.
About those dark days The Stanford Cardinal laugh in the face of sports books. Not only are they unbeaten in 2011, they have covered comfortably in all seven wins. This isn’t a team, it’s a behemoth. Andrew Luck may be the star name but his supporting cast made its presence felt last Saturday.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-SK8b_OrHc[/youtube]
The Cardinal gained 446 yards on the ground and the defense forced 3 turnovers in a 65-21 trouncing of Washington. That kind of result has been the norm for Stanford in 2011, even against talented outfits like the Huskies. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the way Stanford play. They have a traditional pro-style offense; it just happens to be loaded with NFL caliber talent. In addition to Luck, the Cardinal have two future first rounders in Jonathan Martin (OT) and David DeCastro (OG). That’s the talent that has College Football betting fans flocking to back Stanford.
The verdict Let’s take a quick look at Stanford’s margins of victory in 2011: 44 points, 30, 27, 26, 41, 30, 44. The Cardinal are -7.5 favorites this Saturday night. Are you kidding me? You have to go all the way back to November 13 last year to find a game where Stanford didn’t win by double-digits. This is the #4 scoring offense and #2 defense in the country. Beating Notre Dame was great for USC but a win in South Bend does not mean you’re ready to hang with a BCS title contender. That’s what Stanford are right now, it may be a blip in their history but it’s a significant one. Right now the Cardinal are, at worst, the fourth best team in all of College Football. They may yet get a chance to prove they are the best of the best. Until then, Stanford will continue to crush Pac-12 opponents like USC.
