College Football Upset of The Week: USC Trojans Will Conquer the Stanford Cardinal
Written by Matthew Regaw
Sat, 29 Oct 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal are undefeated on the season and have the potential to play for the National Championship. However if they are going to play for the title, they will have to be undefeated on the season and the USC Trojans have something to say about that.
The Stanford offense, led by Luck has been unstoppable up to this point. Last week the Cardinal crushed a ranked Washington squad positing 65 points along the way. This team is very good, but they are walking into a tough spot on their way towards a perfect season.
The college football odds for week nine opened with the Cardinal listed as 9.5 point favorite in this prime time matchup. That line has since shifted and is now just 7.5 in several spots at offshore sportsbooks. This is mainly due to smart money as the sharps are jumping on the home dog. The public is betting on Stanford as over 86% of the money is coming in on the Cardinal. This system sets up for a play on USC and they will keep this game close enough where they could win outright.
Experienced sports bettors know that the Trojans are in a good spot for this game. When a college football team wins outright as an underdog on the road and is an underdog at home in their next game, they are a must play. The theory is that the team gained great confidence by winning on the road as an underdog and now will have the home crowd, with the result being a big win.
This is the Super bowl for the Trojans and head coach Lane Kiffin. This team is not allowed to get a BCS bowl berth because of NCAA sanctions. The bowl ban will keep the Trojans out of a big game, but they are not folding up shop and instead are playing inspired football.
Junior quarterback Matt Barkley is playing excellent football and avoiding mistakes that will put his team in a tough position. Sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods is becoming a house hold name in college football as an elite weapon that will demand double coverage.
The college football trends favor the home town team in this matchup. The Trojans are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) when playing a team with a winning record, 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a win, and 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
The Trojans are the play in this game and they have a realistic chance of winning the game and handing the Cardinal their first loss of the season.
College Football Upset of the week: USC Trojans +7.5