Stanford owns the recent rivalry with UCLA, winning the last seven meetings straight up and going 6-1 against the spread. The Cardinal look to keep the good times going against the Bruins when the Pac-12 contenders clash Thursday night at Stanford Stadium.
Point spread: The Cardinal opened as five-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)
College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 27.0-19.7 Cardinal
Why the UCLA Bruins can cover the spread
UCLA was rolling right along this season, winning its first four games and opening its Pac-12 slate with a convincing road victory at Arizona. But the Bruins then fell victim to a letdown and lost at home to Arizona State 38-23. They then had last week off.
UCLA fell down to the Sun Devils 29-10 in the third quarter, rallied to within one score at 29-23 but couldn't quite complete the comeback. The Bruins never did get their running game going, although quarterback Josh Rosen nearly brought them back, throwing for 280 yards and a pair of scores.
The Bruins are filling holes on defense, thanks to a bout with the injury bug, but the extra time off should help. And if they can just get the running game going, that UCLA defense won't have to be on the field for 38 minutes like it was against ASU.
Why the Stanford Cardinal can cover the spread
Since dropping their season opener at Northwestern the Cardinal have won and covered four games in a row, after disposing of Arizona two weeks ago 55-17 as two-touchdown home chalk. Stanford then also had last week off.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 27-3 halftime lead on the Wildcats and pulled away from there, eventually racking up 570 yards of offense, 314 on the ground, winning time of possession by a 37-23 margin.
Running back Christian McCaffrey reeled off his third straight 100-yard rushing performance, Barry Sanders scored on another long touchdown run and quarterback Kevin Hogan hit on 17 of 19 passes for 217 yards and two scores without an interception.
Stanford opened its Pac-12 slate with an upset of USC at the Coliseum, winning that game outright as a 10-point dog, and followed that up with a 42-24 victory at Oregon State, covering 14 points. So the Cardinal own the early lead in the North Division, and their toughest games from here on out are at home.
Smart pick
UCLA won at Arizona three weeks ago, then suffered a letdown in the loss to Arizona State. But that might just set the Bruins up for a rebound effort this week. Despite a couple of key injuries on defense, and the recent futility in this series, the smart money here resides with UCLA, plus the points.
Betting trends
Stanford is 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in its last seven games against UCLA.
