Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon Ducks Odds & Picks

Stanford Cardinal (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) vs. Oregon Ducks (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)

College Football Week 10

Date and Time: Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 7:30PM EDT

Where: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon

TV: ABC

Point Spread: STAN +10.5/ORE -10.5 (MyBookie – Deposit $100 to $300 and they’ll add that very same amount as a bonus to your wagering account! Example: Deposit $300 and get $300 Free! The ultimate bankroll booster!)

Over/Under Total: 54.5

The Stanford Cardinal take on the Oregon Ducks in a Pac-12 matchup in Eugene, the season-opener for both. In this belated and truncated season, games like this loom large. Stanford saw a lot go wrong in a 4-8 season last year, and maybe the extra time helped them find some answers. They might need them in abundance against an Oregon team that lost some key manpower but is still loaded with enough talent to make them an X-factor in this conference. Oregon is coming off a 12-win campaign where they were in the CFB running right until the end. How will they follow that up? Who can cover the number on Saturday?

Elephant in the Room

With Oregon, there are issues, some player turnover, a new look at quarterback, a new offensive coordinator, and everything that comes with that. So there can be obstacles for them to overcome. With Stanford, the issues seem to run deeper. David Shaw has done a fine job during his tenure with the Cardinal, but last year’s 4-8 season marked a definite low-point for a program that has been declining for the last several seasons. Now to make matters worse, they saw a mass exodus of departures, transfers, and players opting out.

Davis Mills takes over for departed KJ Costello at quarterback for the Cardinal. They lose a possible first-round tackle in Walker Little. Their best player on defense, CB Paulson Adebo, opted out. As if that weren’t enough, the bulk of studs from their defense have opted out or are otherwise gone. They have one back who had more than 75 yards rushing last season. Can they really be expected to hit the ground running with what looks to be mostly a collection of reserves?

The end result for Stanford is anyone’s guess, but the consensus is that it can’t be good. Under Mario Cristobal, Oregon is making strides to become a consistent force in this conference again. Stanford, meanwhile, has seen their roster depleted of most of their promising talent. One wants to perhaps defer to the quality of the Stanford program, Shaw’s abilities, or the extra time to prepare, but one should at least brace for the possibility of a rough-looking Stanford team.

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Urgency for the Ducks

It will be interesting to see how things play out in this more condensed context. Teams like the Ducks are a little behind the eight-ball, with a limited window of time to make an impact. You have teams that are a bit pent-up, as one would imagine when opening your season in week ten of the college football season. In other words, there aren’t going to be a lot of spots where you can expect the better teams to be slacking off. Teams will be looking to make statements, and as a result, we might see more-emphatic performances against overmatched opponents than what would typically be the case.

Possible Hiccups for Oregon

The Ducks said goodbye to Justin Herbert, as he is now looking good in the NFL. Losing that is usually accompanied by some regression, but Tyler Shough looks to be a rising commodity. Joe Moorhead comes in to run this offense. So you can never be sure what things will look like. But if one were to assume Cristobal’s high-rated recruiting will pay off, we could see things develop ahead of schedule.

Still, when you lose a good QB and a big chunk of your offensive line, it’s interesting to see how things will pan out with a new coordinator. At the same time, when looking at who was responsible for a lot of the production on last season’s 12-win team, many of those faces are still there, and Shough should be able to lean on them. And again, just in the spirit of who has the more-problematic situation overall, the nod definitely goes to the Cardinal. At the same time, there are some moving pieces and a fair amount of player turnover with the Ducks, so we can’t be sure until we see.

Challenges for the Cardinal

With the front-seven decimated on defense and the only redeeming part of their secondary gone, it’s hard to picture them containing the more premier offenses in this conference. Oregon has some things to work out with the new QB, coordinator, and unestablished line. But they are otherwise going to be throwing a lot at what could be a reeling Stanford defense. CJ Verdell leads a stacked backfield, with Travis Dye and Cyrus Habibi-Likio adding some relief. Verdell could be a real difference-maker in this spot, and it’s difficult not picturing him breaking off some big ones. Johnny Johnson, Mycah Pittman, and Jaylon Redd are all proven contributors in the aerial game. New Duck Kris Hutson could prove to be a real contributor to this offense. Stanford could hope for the formula taking some time to manifest, but other than an awkward start, the Cardinal “D” would appear to be in a bit over their heads in this one.

Lay the Points

The strangeness of this season, the limited information, and the shifting landscape make it hard to get a real read on this week ten opener for these teams. It’s just difficult to find a way to be overly-positive about what Stanford is going to deliver this season, at least early. At this level, gaps in talent this pronounced tend to really show, and in a season where each game carries more weight, I think the chances are better that this goes really bad for the Cardinal than not. I’m going with the Ducks.

Loot’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I’m betting on the Oregon Ducks minus 10.5 points. Where are you betting your college football picks? Does your bookie give you -105 odds? NO HE DOESN’T! Why pay more when you could be laying less (-105) at BAS? Start betting smarter TODAY by betting at reduced odds at BetAnySports!