Oregon State vs. Stanford Preview
STANFORD, CA – Stanford opened with four wins for the first time in 24 years. Now the Cardinal are looking to close the regular season with a school-record 11th victory.
With its chances of reaching the Rose Bowl for the first time in a decade uncertain, No. 7 Stanford goes for its first seven-game winning streak since 1991 when it hosts Oregon State on Saturday night.
According to latest college football odds, oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made Stanford a 14-point spread favorites for Saturday’s game against Oregon State. Current NCAA Public Betting Information shows that 81% of more than 1,727 bets for this game have been placed on Stanford -14.
After averaging 48.0 points during its first 4-0 start since 1986, Stanford (10-1, 7-1 Pac-10) fell 52-31 at then-No. 4 Oregon on Oct. 2. While the Cardinal have won six straight since then – the program’s longest run since a 7-0 stretch to end the 1991 regular season – they trail the top-ranked Ducks (11-0, 8-0) in the conference.
Even if Stanford wins Saturday, its first Rose Bowl berth since 2000 is far from guaranteed. An Oregon victory the day before against Arizona or against Oregon State (5-5, 4-3) on Dec. 4 would prevent the Cardinal from winning the outright conference title and a trip to Pasadena.
If Oregon wins out and advances to the BCS title game and Stanford defeats the Beavers, Harbaugh’s team faces an additional hurdle. This year, the Rose Bowl is required to select a team from a non-automatic BCS qualifying conference if one is eligible and not playing in the title game.
Therefore, the Cardinal would need No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 TCU to lose, which would likely drop them out of BCS contention.
Stanford could also reach its second Rose Bowl since 1972 if the Broncos or Horned Frogs move into one of the top two spots ahead of No. 2 Auburn, which plays at No. 9 Alabama on Saturday and faces 18th-ranked South Carolina on Dec. 4 in the SEC title game.
“We can’t control that,” Stanford cornerback Richard Sherman said. “All we can control is going out every Saturday and trying to win.”
Having sophomore Andrew Luck under center gives the Cardinal a very good chance to do that. The Heisman Trophy candidate is the eighth highest-rated quarterback in the FBS at 163.0 and leads a Cardinal offense ranked eighth in the nation with 40.6 points per game and 14th in yards with 467.1.
Luck needs three TDs to tie John Elway and Steve Stenstrom for the single-season school record of 27.
Stanford’s power running game, 18th in the FBS with 215.2 yards per game, is led by Stepfan Taylor. He is 92 yards shy of becoming the first Cardinal sophomore to reach 1,000 in a season since 1978.
Stanford needs 16 points to tie the school record of 462.
“We are playing another very good football team, probably as efficient a team we’ve seen this year,” Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. “… Every part of their team is very good, very efficient. It starts with their quarterback, who is definitely one of the best in the country.”
Luck threw two TDs, ran for 72 yards and guided the Cardinal to scores on all eight possessions he played during a 48-14 victory at California last Saturday.
Stanford reached 10 wins for the fourth time in school history and the first in the regular season since 1926.
While the Cardinal will make a second straight bowl appearance this season, Oregon State’s school-record four-year run of postseason football will end if it doesn’t win Saturday or beat Oregon next week.
The Beavers avoided their first three-game skid in league play in eight years Saturday, beating then-No. 20 USC 36-7.
“The guys went back to work and got ready for a game,” Riley said. “That’s what we asked everybody to do, to get ready for a game. Don’t worry about what happened, what’s going to come in the future. Don’t worry about it.”
Stanford has allowed 44 points in the last four games – its best four-game stretch since 1992 – but will have to worry about junior running back Jacquizz Rodgers, who is third in the conference with 1,021 yards and 14 TDs.
Rodgers ran for a career-high 189 yards and matched a school record with four TDs in a 38-28 win over visiting Stanford on Oct. 10, 2009.
In his first college game, Rodgers rushed for 54 yards in a 36-28 loss at Stanford on Aug. 28, 2008. Oregon State had won in its previous three visits.
The Cardinal have won their five home games this season by an average of 23.2 points.
The Beavers are trying to avoid three straight road losses in league play for the first time since 2003.
Stanford leads the series 48-25-3.
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