Bet Stanford Cardinal – Cardinal Need A Little “Luck” To Claim Pac-10

2009 Stanford Cardinal Betting Recap

Online betting players backing the Cardinal in 2009 wish they had known that Stanford would struggle so badly on the road, as four of their five losses came away from home (including a bowl loss).  They followed a big win at Washington State in their opener with a 24-17 loss at Wake Forest before rattling off a three-game winning streak at home against San Jose State, then-No.24 Washington and UCLA.  The Cardinal then came away with a pair of shootout losses on the road, falling 38-28 at Oregon State and 43-38 at Arizona, and the offense stayed hot during another three-game winning streak.  Stanford dropped then-No.8 Oregon 51-42, and then rolled to a 55-21 destruction at then-No.9 USC (this was the worst home loss for the Trojans since 1966), but they came up short in a 34-28 loss at home against California.  The Cardinal were involved with another shootout, this time come away with a 45-38 victory over Notre Dame, but they ended the season on a low with a 31-27 loss in the Sun Bowl to Oklahoma.

As you can tell by some of the scores, the Stanford offense was the main reason to bet on the Cardinal in 2009, as they finished 19th in the nation in that category.  They were fueled by Toby Gerhart, who finished second in the Heisman voting, and he led the nation in rushing.  Andrew Luck improved more and more each game as the starting pivot, and he had just four picks in 2009.  The offensive line was a big plus as they did a great job opening holes for Gerhart, and the Cardinal was also second in the nation in sacks allowed.  The big problem was a defense that couldn’t stop anyone through the air, finishing 110th in the country in pass defense.   They were also 108th in tackles for losses. 

2010 Preview To Bet Stanford Cardinal

Stanford’s NCAA football betting odds could end up being pretty good, with USC out of the running and Oregon struggling so much with legal problems.  Luck will be allowed to air it out a bit more this season with his two favorite targets, Chris Owusu and Ryan Whalen, back in town.  Replacing Gerhart won’t be something that one player does, and after the spring, it looks more like it’ll be a back-by-committee deal.  The Cardinal has to generate more of a pass rush to help out their ailing secondary, where Stanford still doesn’t know who is going to start at one corner opposite Richard Sherman.  New coordinator Vic Fangio is definitely going to have his hands full with this group. 

You should be able to bet on the Cardinal in their opener against Sacramento State and come away a winner, but watch out as three of Stanford’s next four games will be on the road.  The Cardinal travels to UCLA before hosting Wake Forest in a revenge game from last season, and then they head for back-to-back games at Notre Dame and Oregon.  The Cardinal then host USC and Washington State before travelling to Washington, then they return home to host Arizona.  Finally, the stretch run starts with road trips to Arizona State and Cal, and the Cardinal wrap up their regular season by hosting Oregon State.

The Cardinal have every chance to come away with the Pac-10 title, although we think they’ll come up just short.  The offense will be good, even with a change in philosophy, and some are saying that Luck could be a darkhorse betting candidate for the Heisman trophy.  The key to everything this year for Stanford is their pass defense, and while we don’t think it’ll be as bad as last year, it won’t improve enough to overtake Oregon State for the Pac-10 title.  Still, from week to week, the Cardinal will be a solid sports betting pick in the conference.