USC Trojans at Stanford Cardinal Betting Preview/Prop Pick
08 September 2022
Time: 7:30 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: USC 82.286; Stanford 83.399
Dunkel Line & Total: Stanford by 1; 69
Vegas Line & Total: USC by 9; 65
Dunkel Pick: Stanford (+9); Over
Longtime Pac-12 Conference rivals meet up on Saturday night as the Stanford Cardinal host the USC Trojans. These teams have consistently been at or near the top of the league standings in recent years, and that could be the case again in 2022.
USC moved up to number 10 in the latest poll with a dominant performance over Rice in the season opener. The Trojans are leaving the Pac-12 in a couple of years, and they want to leave their mark on the conference before that.
Stanford picked up a comfortable win over Colgate in Week 1, but expectations aren't that high for this team. The Cardinal always seem to be a tough team to deal with at home, especially when hosting some of their biggest rivals.
The USC Trojans are nine-point betting favorites over the Stanford Cardinal in this Pac-12 rivalry matchup.
Trojans Have a New Look
Lincoln Riley is now the new head coach at USC, and he brought in transfer quarterback Caleb Williams to run the offense. Riley always allows his teams to play fast on the offensive side of the football, and they won't be afraid to throw the ball.
Williams threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener, and he also picked up 68 yards on the ground. USC is counting on Williams to run the show, but the rest of the team is going to have to pitch in.
USC did allow 146 rushing yards in the win over Rice, and that could lead to some issues in this game. The Cardinal are going to run the football a ton in this game, and the Trojans' defense has to make a stand.
Stanford Wants to Play Slow
Stanford does not have a team that is built for winning high-scoring affairs, and this team will do all that it can to slow down the tempo and pace in this one. The Cardinal did have 497 yards of total offense in Week 1, but they weren't challenged by Colgate.
Running back E.J. Smith had 118 rushing yards and two touchdowns in that win, and he is going to be a key in this one. Stanford is going to line up and try to run the ball consistently, and that will also give this defense a break.
If Stanford is going to end up winning the game, then the secondary is going to have to play extremely well. The Cardinal should be one of the better defensive teams in the league, and this is going to be the ultimate test.
Cardinal Complete the Upset
This just always seems to be one of those games when you can throw the records out and just focus on this matchup. USC is supposed to be the better overall team in this game, but Stanford won't care about any of those projections.
The Cardinal are going to have to be solid on the defensive end of the field in this game, but that is exactly what is going to happen. Everyone will be waiting to see how the Trojans handle a little adversity, and that will definitely be the case in this one.
This game is going to come down to the wire, and it's going to end up being another disappointing loss for USC. Take the Stanford Cardinal moneyline as they pull off the stunning upset over the USC Trojans on Saturday night.
Prop Pick
Stanford (-115) OVER 29.5 Points
USC allowed an average of 31.3 points per game last season on defense, which ranked No. 98 in the FBS. Scores have gone OVER in seven of the Trojans’ last 10 games overall.
With Dunkel predicting a Cardinal win by the score of 35-34, take Stanford (-115) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 29.5 points against USC.
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