Another year, another chance for the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans to add more to their rich rivalry history. Last year, Stanford (+20000 to win the national title) got the victory in this head-to-head. But while the Cardinal (+50000) are 3-1 SU in the last four meetings with USC, the Trojans have historically owned the Cardinal. In fact, USC leads the all-time series, 61-33-3. The Trojans also own the longest winning streak in the rivalry with 12 consecutive victories over the Cardinal spanning from 1958 to 1969. Will Stanford make it two in a row? Or will the Trojans rebound and win this time?
Betting on the Stanford Cardinal (1-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
Stanford opened the season with a 17-7 home win over the Northwestern Wildcats last week, but the victory isn’t enough to ease the team off of one major concern. The Cardinal managed to outclass Northwestern despite the premature exit from the game of star quarterback J.J Costello, who took a hit to the head in the game. Before getting knocked out from the contest, Costello managed to go 16 for 20 for 152 passing yards and a touchdown. With Costello out, the Cardinal relied on their defense and ground attack, holding Northwestern down to only 117 passing yards and 93 rushing yards. Meanwhile, running back Cameron Scarlett took off for 97 rushing yards on 22 carries. Overall, the Cardinal had 132 rushing yards. In the event that Costello gets ruled out for Week 2, Davis Mills will get the starting duties while Jack West will be the primary backup. Last year, the Cardinal’s defense was too much for USC in a 17-3 home win.
The Cardinal are 5-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last six meetings with USC.
Betting on the USC Trojans (1-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
It’s not just the Stanford who had their starting quarterback get injured in the very first week of the 2019 NCAAF season. Even the Cardinal’s rival USC saw their most important player go down last week, albeit in a more serious manner. The Trojans defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs at home in Week 1, 31-23, but at the cost of JT Daniels suffering likely season-ending ACL and meniscus tears. With Daniels out for the foreseeable future, the Trojans will have to rely on Kedon Slovis to step up and carry the main quarterbacking duties. Slovis had 57 passing yards on 5-for-7 completions against the Bulldogs. The Trojans may have to increase their activity on the ground with their passing attack missing its original starting QB. One good thing for USC is that its offensive line is capable of creating gaps for its running backs. In the Fresno State game, the Trojans had 175 rushing yards and two rushing scores.
The Trojans are 2-1 ATS in their last three games as the home team against Stanford.
