Fresh off getting torched 45-20 by the USC Trojans, the Stanford Cardinal find themselves facing another defensive challenge this Saturday as they visit Central Florida. The Knights have been a buzzsaw as expected, averaging an absurd 55 points through their first two games, and will look to keep that going this weekend.
Stanford Cardinal vs UCF Knights (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: September 14, 3:30 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
Sportsbook Odds: UCF -6.5 | O/U 58.0 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The line on this game was slow to come out this week, but the Knights finally opened between 6.5- and 7-point favorites for the contest – a line no doubt influenced by last weekend’s polar opposite results for the two teams.
Stanford News & Notes
After containing Northwestern to near perfection in their season-Sportsbook 17-7 victory over the Wildcats, the Cardinal had no answer for Trojans freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis (377 passing yards, 3 TDs) or USC’s new-look Air Raid offense after holding the same team to just three points in last year’s home victory.
But bettors shouldn’t shy away from taking the Cardinal to bounce back, even with the Knights looking every bit as dangerous on offense as they have over the past few years. Stanford has managed to cover the spread in seven of its last 10 games in Week 3, and has gone 28-8 SU in its last 36 games in the month of September.
UCF News & Notes
Many wondered how the UCF offense would look this season with McKenzie Milton no longer the starting quarterback – and the answer is that it still looks sensational. Dillon Gabriel and Brandon Wimbush have combined for 618 passing yards and eight TDs, while the running game has produced seven scores to go along with an average of 6.3 yards per carry.
And the Knights have been one of the most formidable home teams in the country for a while now; they’re a red-hot 8-2 ATS in their previous 10 games in their own stadium, scoring in excess of 50 points on five occasions while reaching 40-plus points two other times.
Betting Pick
Central Florida comes into this one having won 16 consecutive home games, and is proving to be an offensive force both through the air and on the ground. Stanford is better than it showed last week, but traveling across the country to tangle with the nationally ranked Knights doesn’t instill much confidence. We favor the home team ATS.
- Stanford is 9-1 SU and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games in Week 3.
- UCF is 16-0 SU in its last 16 games at home (avg. winning margin: 27.13).
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of UCF’s last 11 games at home in September.
