College Football Betting News and Notes Friday, October 10

NCAAF Week 7

Stanford is off pair of tough road games; they've scored only 44 points in first three Pac-12 (1-2) tilts. Cardinal won last six games vs Washington State (4-2 vs spread); favorites covered Wazzu's last four visits to Farm, losing last three by 38-30-26 points. Coogs covered last six games as a road underdog- they scored 59 points last week but lost, missing 19-yard FG at gun; that and Cal's two kick returns for TDs cost special teams coach his job. Halladay threw for I-A record 734 yards for Wazzu.

San Diego State won last four games vs New Mexico but Lobos covered all four games; underdogs covered six of last eight in series. Aztecs lost four of last five visits here, winning 30-20 in last visit; they're 0-3 away from home this year, losing by 4-21-11 points, and 5-10-1 as favorites on road in last 10+ years, but 4-4 under Long. Road team is 5-0 SU this year in New Mexico games- they won as 16-point dogs last week. Lobos are 2-7 as home underdogs under Davie, 0-2 this season.

Fresno State won last three games after 0-3 start, winning last two by 11 points each; Bulldogs are 6-2-1 as road favorites under DeRuyter, 1-0 so far this year- they racked up 641 yards in a 38-14 (-25) win over UNLV last year. Mountain West favorites are 6-4 vs spread in league play, 3-2 on road. UNLV is 0-5 vs I-A teams, with closest loss 48-34; Rebels are 12-6-1 as home dogs under Hauck, 0-1 this year- they've allowed 33 or more points and 257+ rushing yards in all five I-A games.

Armadillosports.com

Game of the Day: Washington State at Stanford
By Covers.com

Washington State Cougars at Stanford Cardinal (-17, 52.5)

The nation’s top-ranked passing offense will take on the No. 2 pass defense when Washington State travels to No. 22 Stanford for a Pac-12 matchup Friday night. The Cougars average 523 passing yards and fresh off a 60-59 loss to California in which Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday broke an NCAA record with 734 passing yards while throwing six touchdowns. The Cardinal are surrendering an average of 107.4 yards through the air this season and haven’t allowed at least 30 points in 27 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.

The Cougars have four wide receivers with at least six touchdown receptions this season led by Vince Mayle, who broke the program record in the California game by accumulating 263 receiving yards. Stanford will need to find a way to ratchet up its running game after totaling 47 rushing yards in a 17-14 loss last week to No. 5 Notre Dame, its fewest since 2007. Remound Wright will likely continue as the starting running back for Stanford, but Barry Sanders could be in line for extra carries if Wright continues to struggle.

LINE HISTORY: The line has held steady with Stanford as 17-point home favorites. The total has been bet down considerably from 55 to 52.5.

INJURY REPORT: Washington State - WR Gabe Marks (out indefinitely, head). Stanford - DT Ikenna Nwafor (out for season, undisclosed).

WEATHER REPORT: It should be a great night for football with temperatures in the low 70s with low humidity. There will be a slight five mile per hour wind blowing towards the southeast end zone.

WHAT CAPPERS SAY: "When the Washington State Cougars take on Stanford at The Farm Friday night, we'll see the nation's leading passer matched up against the Cardinal's top ranked defense. Last week Halliday threw for an FBS record 724 yards, and the Cougars still lost at home to Cal." - Covers Expert Jesse Schule.

WASHINGTON STATE (2-4, 3-3 ATS, 3-3 O/U): The Cougars gave up two kickoff returns for touchdowns against California and a punt return for a score the week before in another one-point loss to Utah, leading to the dismissal of special teams coach Erik Russell. Quentin Breshears also missed a 19-yard field goal with 15 seconds left against the Golden Bears, which would have lifted Washington State to the win. Breshears also missed a 29-yarder last month in a seven-point loss to No. 11 Oregon.

STANFORD (3-2, 2-3 ATS, 0-4 O/U): Ty Montgomery has been kept in check the last two games and that’s one of the reasons the Cardinal has had trouble moving the ball. The 6-2, 215-pound wide receiver caught 22 passes through the first three games but has totaled just four in each of the last two, gaining less than 30 yards in both games. He remains on pace to better last season’s total of 61 catches but is averaging just 9.6 yards a reception and has scored three touchdowns, well off the 15.7 average and 10 scores he finished with last season.

TRENDS:

* Road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings.
* Favorite is 6-2 ATS in their last eight meetings.
* Under is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings.
* Washington State is 5-2 ATS in their last seven meetings in Stanford.

COVERS CONSENSUS: Just over 57 percent of wagers are backing Washington State at +17.

Washington State at Stanford
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com

With both teams coming off gut-wrenching defeats and in dire need of a win, Stanford welcomes Washington State to Palo Alto for a Pac-12 battle on Friday night.

As of early Thursday afternoon, most betting shops had Stanford (3-2 straight up, 2-3 against the spread) listed as a 17-point favorite with a total of 55. Gamblers can garner a +650 return by backing the Cougars on the money line (risk $100 to win $650).

David Shaw's team returns home after back-to-back road assignments. Stanford failed to cover the number in both contests, winning 20-13 at Washington as a 7.5-point 'chalk' before dropping a 17-14 decision at Notre Dame as a 2.5-point favorite.

Stanford took a 14-10 advantage in South Bend with 3:01 remaining on Remound Wright's 11-yard touchdown scamper. With the nation's top-ranked defense, Cardinal backers (like me) appeared to be in good shape. However, the Irish responded on its final drive with the help of a pass-interference call on a fourth-down play.

Facing yet another fourth down from the Stanford 23, Notre Dame QB Everett Golson found Ben Koyack for a 23-yard scoring strike with 61 ticks left to lift his team to victory.

Stanford QB Kevin Hogan threw a pair of interceptions, while the ground game was completely ineffective with just 47 yards on 32 attempts.

Washington State (2-4 SU, 3-3 ATS) produced 812 yards of total offense last week, yet somehow found a way to lose a 60-59 decision vs. California. The Cougars gave up a pair of kickoff returns for scores and missed a 19-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, prompting Mike Leach to fire his special-teams coach.

Senior QB Connor Halliday had a game for the ages, shattering an FBS record with 734 passing yards. Halliday, who leads the nation in passing yards (3,052), had six TD passes without an interception. For the season, he has completed 67.8 percent of his throws with a 26/7 TD-INT ratio.

Halliday's WRs had huge numbers against Cal, too. River Cracraft hauled in 11 receptions for 172 yards and three TDs, while Vince Mayle had 11 catches for 263 yards and one TD. Isiah Myers added nine grabs for 96 and a pair of scores.

Wazzu has covered the spread in six consecutive road underdog situations. Mike Leach's squad has been a double-digit underdog twice this season, hooking up their betting supporters both times. Just two weeks ago, the Cougars captured a 28-27 win at Utah when they were catching 13.5 points.

Stanford is 2-1 both SU and ATS as a home favorite this season, losing 13-10 to USC in a game it came up empty on points in seven drives that penetrated to at least the Trojans' 32 yard line. As a home 'chalk' during Shaw's four-year tenure, the Cardinal has gone 11-11 ATS.

This is Wazzu's lowest tally of the season. Totals have been an overall wash (3-3) for the Cougars this year, but they have seen the 'under' cash at a 2-0 clip in their road outings. Their games have averaged a combined score of 73.2 points per game.

The 'under' is 4-0 for Stanford this season with its games netting combined scores of 45, 23, 35 and 33 and 31 points. There was no total in the Cardinal's 45-0 season-opening victory over UC Davis. The average combined scores have been 33.4 PPG. This is the highest total Stanford has seen this year.

The 'under' is 8-3-1 in the last 12 head-to-head meetings between these Pac-12 rivals.

Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.

B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets

Stanford hasn't allowed an opponent to score 30 points in 28 consecutive games.

There are two other games on Friday's college football card. On ESPNU at 9:30 p.m. Eastern, San Diego St. is a 4.5-point road favorite at New Mexico. The Lobos are +175 on the money line.

UNLV will take on Fresno St. at Sam Boyd Stadium at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on the CBS Sports Network. The Bulldogs are 10.5-point road 'chalk' at most spots. The Rebels won't have star WR Devante Davis and QB Blake Decker is a question mark.

Alabama won't have three key players at Arkansas. Kenyan Drake, who had six TDs going into last week's loss at Ole Miss, broke his leg and Oxford and is done for the season. Starting center Ryan Kelly is 'out' this week and LB Denzel Devall will miss the next 3-4 weeks.

Illinois QB Wes Lunt is out for the next 4-6 weeks after breaking his leg in a 38-27 home loss to Purdue. Lunt had a 13/3 TD-INT ratio so far this year. The Illini, 25.5-point underdogs at Wisconsin on Saturday, have limped to an abysmal 1-9 spread record as a road underdog on Tim Beckman's watch.

Louisville WR DeVante Parker will make his season debut Saturday at Clemson. Parker broke his left foot in late August. He finished 2013 with 55 receptions for 885 yards and 12 TDs, earning first-team All-AAC honors.

WSU looks for Pac-12 upset
By Sportsbook.ag

Washington State Cougars (2-4) at Stanford Cardinal (3-2)

Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Stanford, -17 Total: 55

No. 25 Stanford looks to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday night when it hosts the high-octane passing attack of Washington State.

Both teams are coming off close defeats last week. Washington State lost to California, 60-59, despite QB Connor Halliday throwing for 734 yards and six touchdowns. Now the Cougars have to hit the road against a Stanford team that is coming off a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame.

Under coach Mike Leach, Washington State has done a good job of competing on the road as an underdog, going 6-0 ATS in that role over the past two seasons. However, last season at home, Washington State was blown out by Stanford, 55-17. The defense of the Cardinal stopped the Cougars' Air Raid offense, taking back two interceptions for touchdowns.

This game being on a Friday night will also be an advantage for Stanford, as the Cardinal have done well on six days rest (21-10 ATS) under coach David Shaw. Neither school has any significant new injuries to concern themselves with.

Connor Halliday (3,052 passing yards, 68% completions, 26 TD) is coming off one of the greatest performances in college football history, throwing for 734 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Cougars enter this game leading the nation in passing offense (523 YPG) and ranking 27th in scoring (38 PPG).

However, the run game is nearly non-existent, averaging only 56.5 YPG (125th in FBS). Jamal Morrow (49 carries, 187 yards) and Gerard Wicks (46 carries, 186 yards and 3 TD) both have gotten opportunities, but will need to continue to help Halliday out. While Halliday has been great under center, there are some very talented playmakers at the receiver position. Vince Mayle (51 catches, 703 yards and 6 TD), River Cracraft (43 catches, 576 yards and 6 TD), Isiah Myers (45 catches, 574 yards and 7 TD) and Dom Williams (24 catches, 496 yards and 6 TD) are all capable of having big games. Williams is the guy the Cougars look for to make the big play, as he leads the team by a wide margin with an average of 20.7 YPC. The Cougars have the talent on the offensive side of the ball, but it was the defense and special teams that let the team down last week.

The defensive unit gave up 589 yards of offense, including 527 passing yards in the loss. Kicker Quentin Breshears missed a 19-yard FG with 19 seconds left in the game, which would have given the Cougars the victory. CB Daquawn Brown (50 tackles, 7 pass breakups, 4 TFL) is the leading tackler on the 106th-ranked scoring defense in the country (35.2 PPG). LB Ivan McLennan (17 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks) does a good job getting into the backfield, and he will have to do that in this game against the Cardinal.

Stanford had the game won against Notre Dame last Saturday, only to allow the Irish score on a 4th-and-11 play with less than a minute remaining. Despite that touchdown, the Cardinal are still the top scoring defense in the country (8.6 PPG). LBs Blake Martinez (37 tackles) and AJ Tarpley (33 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT) are the heart and soul of this unit, and do a great job of flying around to the ball. LB Peter Kalambayi (16 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks) is an explosive athlete that gets into the backfield, and makes plays.

The Stanford defense stacks up favorably to any unit in the nation, but the offense must improve. QB Kevin Hogan (1,041 passing yards, 8 TD, 4 INT) is doesn't make many mistakes, but has not proven to be able to give the offense the big play when it needs one.

The Cardinal have been a dominant running team the past couple of seasons, but they rank only 89th in the country in rushing (141.8 YPG) and 91st in scoring (24.8 PPG) this year. RB Remound Wright (37 carries, 180 yards, 1 TD) leads the team in rushing, but Stanford right now is just not getting enough in the ground game.

The Cardinal have one of the best receiving options in the country in WR Ty Montgomery (30 catches, 287 yards, 3 TD), but have been unable to get him the ball out in space enough to show off his speed. For the Cardinal, it all starts with the running game, which then opens up the passing opportunities on the outside.

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Washington St vs. Stanford Betting Preview and Pick
By: Ryan Mercier
Sportingnews.com

Stanford fell victim to a tremendous play from Everett Golson and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last Saturday. Now, the Cardinal head back home after a two-game road trip to welcome the high-flying Washington State Cougars this Friday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Line: Stanford -17.5, Total: 55.5

Line movement: Stanford opened -18 at The Wynn on Sunday, but early action on the underdog pushed the spread down to -17 by Monday. Midweek, the line ranged from 17 to 18 around Las Vegas. UNDER money has come in on the total, pushing it down from 55.5 to 53. For updated spreads and totals, visit our live odds board.

Trends that matter: Washington State is 5-1 ATS in its last six conference games and 14-3-1 ATS following an ATS loss....Stanford is 7-1-1 ATS in its last nine games vs. an opponent with a losing record and 5-2 ATS in its last seven games at home....The UNDER is 4-1 in Washington State's last five road games, 8-1 in Stanford's last nine conference games, and 4-0 in Stanford's last four overall....The favorite is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings between these teams, the UNDER is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings, and the road team is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings.

Two losses: In college football, unless the school resides in the SEC, two losses on a season is a death knell for national title hopes. It remains to be seen how the new format will work out, but adding two teams at the end will not affect much.

Stanford's defense continues to lead the nation in points allowed (8.6 points per game). However, while giving up 17 to Notre Dame, its offense put up only 14. QB Kevin Hogan has some nice numbers on the season, but better production is needed when going in to South Bend. The senior tossed up two picks and no touchdowns last week.

This will be quite the clash of styles, as the Cardinal defense goes against a Washington State offense that would throw it a million times per game if it could. Stanford obviously needs to keep the WSU passing attack in check.

On the other side of the ball, Hogan and the offense could have one of its best games of the season.

USC and Notre Dame are the two best passing teams Stanford has faced thus far, and the defense held those schools to 13 and 17 points, respectively. Through five games, Stanford is officially 4-0 to the UNDER. The missing game was a contest in the first week against the Aggies of UC Davis.

119 points: Last Saturday, Washington State welcomed Cal for a game that ended 60-59 without the help of overtime. Quarterbacks Connor Halliday and Jared Goff combined for 123 pass attempts, 1,261 yards and 11 touchdowns. Vince Mayle and River Cracraft each caught 11 balls for WSU, with Mayle going for 262 yards.

Halliday has thrown 26 touchdowns through six games. The problem is that WSU is a one-trick pony, and that has resulted in a 2-4 straight-up record on the year. On the betting line, the Cougars are 3-3 ATS, after failing to cover just three spreads in the regular season a year ago (blowout losses to Arizona State, Oregon State and Stanford).

The Cardinal crushed Washington State last year, 55-17, as 9-point favorites on the road. Halliday was forced to leave that game in the third quarter due to a big hit.

Washington State has been in some very exciting games the last three weeks and are 3-1 ATS since beginning 0-2. The Cougars gave the Oregon Ducks a scare, then won by a single point against Utah and lost by that same margin against Cal.

Injuries that matter: Both teams are coming in healthy; neither team has a significant injury. Weather: The forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s, high 60s. Visit Weather Underground for updated forecasts.

The Linemakers lean: Micah Roberts says the spread should be around 14, so there is some value with WSU taking the points. Trends also point to the dog, as WSU has covered eight of its last 11 when getting 10.5 points or more and five of its last seven at Stanford.

Micah and Vinny Magliulo both liked the game UNDER 55.5, mainly because Stanford’s defense allows only 232 yards and 8.6 points per game. The Cardinal should dictate the pace, and we're not sure their offense is even capable of running up the score, as it looks to keep the clock running and methodically move the chains. UNDER has cashed in eight of the last 12 meetings. But with the number being bet down, some of the value is gone.