Most pundits felt the loss of Andrew Luck would result in a step back for the Stanford football program last season, but those sentiments were proven wrong. The Cardinal posted an 11-2 regular season record and, thanks to a 17-14 overtime win in Eugene, they earned a spot in the Pac 12 Championship Game. Stanford went on to defeat UCLA 27-24 in the title clash and it added another victory to its resume with a 20-14 win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Despite last year's surprise league championship and the return of 59 lettermen, Stanford is not this season's pick to win the Pac 12. The Cardinal, who are drawing a +2600 money line in the latest BCS Championship Odds, are a second conference pick to Oregon at +480 odds ($100 wins $480). Stanford's three year run of double digit win seasons is also expected to end. The Cardinal's 2013 regular season win total is set at 9.5 games and the Under is favored at -120 odds.
Stanford's grueling schedule is, no doubt, a major factor in the latest Pac 12 projections. The Cardinal face difficult road games at Oregon State and USC and their home slate features at least five potential stumbling blocks in Arizona State, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, and Notre Dame. Early college football game lines at the Golden Nugget do have Stanford favored in all of those games, though, with the exception of the meetings with USC (+2) and Oregon (+3).
Stanford Cardinal BCS Championship Odds:
Stanford Cardinal Odds to win the 2014 BCS National Championship +2600
Stanford Cardinal Odds to win the Pac 12 Championship +480 (two of 12)
Stanford Cardinal Odds to win the Pac 12 North Division +260 (two of six)
Stanford Cardinal Regular Season Wins: Over 9.5 (-110), Under 9.5 (-120)
LVH College Football Games of the Year (featuring Stanford):
9/21 Arizona State at Stanford (-8.5)
10/12 Stanford (-9.5) at Utah
10/19 UCLA at Stanford (-11.5)
10/26 Stanford (-3.5) at Oregon State
11/7 Oregon at Stanford (+4)
11/16 Stanford (-1) at USC
11/30 Notre Dame at Stanford (-7)
Golden Nugget College Football Games of the Year (featuring Stanford):
9/21 Arizona State at Stanford (-9)
9/28 Stanford (-18.5) at Washington State
10/5 Washington at Stanford (-11.5)
10/12 Stanford (-12.5) at Utah
10/19 UCLA at Stanford (-10)
10/26 Stanford (-3.5) at Oregon State
11/7 Oregon at Stanford (+3)
11/16 Stanford (+2) at USC
11/23 California at Stanford (-22)
11/30 Notre Dame at Stanford (-5)
Betting College Football Openers
Bryan Leonard and host Steve Fezzik discuss strategies for betting betting college football openers.
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