A return home couldn’t come soon enough for the Stanford Cardinal, who will look to get their defensive shortcomings dealt with as they host the Oregon Ducks in a powerhouse Pac-12 encounter Saturday evening. The Cardinal allowed 90 points in back-to-back road losses to USC and Central Florida and looked dismal in doing so.
Oregon Ducks vs Stanford Cardinal (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: September 21, 7 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
Sportsbook Odds: Oregon -1.5 | O/U 58.5 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Oregon opened as a 1.5-point road favorite (Sportsbook), the first time since 2013 that the Ducks will head to Stanford Stadium with the edge in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
Oregon News & Notes
The Ducks hit the road following a pair of impressive victories over Nevada and Montana; Oregon outscored its opponents 112-9 in those one-sided contests to atone for a 27-21 loss to Auburn in their season opener. But the Ducks have gone just 1-3 ATS in their previous four games as a favorite of 3 or fewer points dating back to October 2016.
The Ducks would love nothing more than to avenge their 38-31 overtime home loss to the Cardinal last season – and to do so, they’ll need to limit Stanford’s big-play potential, which was on full display in that 2018 contest. Stanford gained 12.6 yards per pass play in that one; the Cardinal averaged just 10.2 yards per completion in 2018 (good for 116th overall).
Stanford News & Notes
K.J. Costello was a tour de force against the Ducks last season, throwing for 327 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visiting Cardinal to a narrow cover as a 3-point favorite. But in his return from injury last week, Costello showed plenty of signs of rust, completing less than half of his passes against Central Florida while compiling 199 yards with one TD and one INT.
That said, the Cardinal have been a sensational home team in September, having won eight straight at Stanford Stadium in the month. And this team has thrived on being a home underdog over the past decade-plus, having gone an incredible 8-1 SU while covering all nine games in which it has received points in its own building.
Betting Pick: Stanford +1.5
Look for Costello to shake off the rust, and for the Cardinal to be sufficiently amped for their return home to extend their incredible dominance as a home underdog.
- Oregon is 2-7 SU and ATS in its last 9 games on the road.
- Stanford is 8-0 SU and 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home in September.
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Oregon’s last 5 games vs Stanford (avg. combined score: 67.8).
