Stanford vs Arizona St Pac 12 Championship Game Betting Preview
It’s championship week in college football, and in the Pac-12, that means the Stanford Cardinal and Arizona State Sun Devils are slated to face off at 7:45 PM ET Saturday night.
Pac 12 Championship
No. 7 Stanford (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) @ No. 11 Arizona State (10-2, 8-1 Pac-12)
Sat. Dec. 7 7:45 PM ET
Spread: Arizona State -3
O/U: 56.5
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The Sun Devils will have home-field advantage in this one, but the question is whether it will be enough to take down a team that already beat them early in the year.
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The Cardinal took down ASU 42-28 back on Sept. 21, which means the Sun Devils will be looking for revenge this time around.
Stanford
Tyler Gaffney is the key to this contest, and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
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The Cardinal have not been a good passing team this year, which means Gaffney, their starting running back, has been their saving grace. The team is just 94th in the FBS in passing yards per game, but it is 26th in rushing. As a result, the team is scoring 32.8 points per contest, which is far more than what they’re giving up on the season.
On the year, the Cardinal are allowing just 19 points per game to their opponents. That’s good enough for 13th in the nation, and it is the biggest reason they’ve found success and are a top-seven team despite two losses.
In Stanford’s last 26 road games, it is an impressive 19-6-1 ATS. The score has also gone under in eight of its last 11 games away from Stanford Stadium.
Additionally, ASU is just 2-6 in their last eight games in December, giving Stanford a historical advantage.
Arizona State
Any time two teams face off twice in one season (and the first game is a blowout), the team that lost Round 1 has the clear advantage. The team that won is trying to replicate its performance from last time, while the team that lost knows where changes must be made.
In this case, ASU needs to establish some semblance of a running game, even though that’s not where its forte has been this season. In the first matchup between these two, the Sun Devils tallied just 50 yards on the ground. Conversely, the team gave up 240 on the ground to the Cardinal. The Stanford defense is too good to play one-dimensional against, and now that Arizona State knows it, look for it to make the changes necessary to stay competitive.
Despite ASU changing its approach, expect the Cardinal to come away with an underdog win. Don’t get me wrong; this game will be close—much closer than last time. But Stanford is too physical up front and it has proven it can get it done on both sides of the field this season.
Don’t be surprised if this game comes down to the final possession, but don’t be shocked, either, if it’s the road team escaping with the Pac-12 title.
Prediction: Stanford 27 – Arizona State 24
