Can Stanford Defy the Pac 12 Championship Odds Against USC?

Superstar running back Bryce Love and the streaking Stanford Cardinal are clearly playing their best football of the season at just the right time! Now, the big question that college football bettors need an answer for as the 14th-ranked Cardinal get set to take on strong-armed quarterback Sam Darnold and the 11th-ranked USC Trojans is: can they pull off the big upset in the Pac 12 Championship odds? Love and the Cardinal will look to both, beat their longtime conference rivals to claim the Pac-12 crown while extracting some revenge for an emphatic loss they suffered against the Trojans early this season. Now, let’s find out what’s going to go down when these two square off this coming Saturday at 8:00 PM ET, live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara with the Trojans as 4 point favorites.

Can Stanford (9-3) Defy the Pac 12 Championship Odds Against USC (10-2)?

Who’s next? Trojans! Whose house? C-House!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/8WvNHhjhQD

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) 28 de noviembre de 2017

• When: Friday, December 1, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: 90.1 FM (Stanford) / 690 AM (USC)
• Live Stream: Watch ESPN
• Pac 12 Championship Odds: USC Trojans -4 (Over/Under at 58.5)

Weather Forecast

• Partly Cloudy: 13°C/56°F
• Humidity: 73%
• Precipitation: 3%
• Cloud Cover: 42%
• Wind: 2 mph WNW

SEC Championship Odds & Expert Pick: Georgia vs. Auburn

Latest Pac 12 Championship Game Betting Trends

• Stanford is 8-4 ATS in the last 12 games when playing Southern California
• Stanford is 8-1 SU in the last 9 games
• The total went UNDER in 6 of Stanford’s last 8 games
• USC is 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games
• USC is 19-2 SU in the last 21 games
• The total went OVER in 4 of Southern California’s last 6 games

Why consider the Cardinal Pac 12 Championship Odds?

The best reason to bet on Stanford is that the Cardinal are clearly playing their best football of the season right now, they have the best player on either roster in running back Bryce Love and have got the added factor of wanting some revenge! Stanford has won three straight and are clearly playing their best football of the season right now. Over the three-game span, the Cardinal beat former top 10 conference rival Washington 30-22 in Week 11 as a 7-point home underdog while also handing desperate Notre Dame an even more convincing 38-20 walloping this past weekend to cover the chalk as a 3-point home dog. I also believe the Cardinal have the best player on either roster in gifted running back Bryce Love who is second in the nation in rushing yards per game and torched the Trojans for 160 yards, including a 75-yard run in their earlier meeting this season. The Cardinals have won eight of their last nine games with their only loss during the span being a heartbreaking 27-24 road loss at dangerous Washington State. The Cardinal are averaging a solid 32.3 points per game and have one of the best defense in the country in limiting the opposition to just 20.7 points per game to rank 25th nationally. “We’ve got to limit their explosive plays,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “We missed a lot of tackles in the first USC game.”

Why consider the Trojans Pac 12 Championship Odds?

The best reason to bet on USC is that they’ve got some confidence going and have one of the best quarterbacks in the country! USC has gotten their act together a bit by winning four straight games since suffering a humiliating 49-14 blowout loss against Notre Dame and the Trojans have one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Sam Darnold, even if he didn’t quite live up to his hype as the preseason. “He’s got fire and passion,” Stanford coach David Shaw said about Darnold, the possible top pick in next year’s NFL Draft. “He’s got a strong arm and he’s accurate.” The Trojans have won six of seven and have the knowledge that they beat Stanford 42-24 in Week 2 this season. USC is also coming off a bye after playing 12 consecutive games while the Cardinal will have a short week to prepare. “We were a tired and beat-up football team that needed the week off,” head coach Clay Helton said. USC averages 34.8 points per game (26th) while allowing 26.2 points per contest defensively (60th).

Expert Analysis and Prediction

I’m going to get right to the point by saying that I really like Stanford to not only cover the chalk in this Pac-12 title tilt but to do so by getting the outright win over Stanford. I’m not all that impressed with USC’s four-game winning streak seeing as how they’ve beaten a quartet of good, but certainly not great, teams in getting past Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado and UCLA in their last four. I love Stanford’s defense and supremely gifted running back Bryce Love and I genuinely believe that the Cardinal are a much better team than they were they met USC in Week 2, while I can’t say the same for the Trojans. Stanford has held three of their last seven opponents to 14 points or less while not allowing more than 24 points in each of their last eight games. Stanford is a near-perfect 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games in December and an encouraging 8-2 ATS in their last 10 neutral site games. Conversely, USC has gone 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in December and a disturbing 0-5 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. Stanford covers the chalk by winning outright! Pick: Stanford +3