NCAAF Betting Preview: Stanford Looks to Rebound Against Goff and Dangerous Cal?

The 15th-ranked Stanford Cardinal will look to rebound from their crushing Week 11 loss and keep its faint college football playoff hopes alive, but doing so likely won’t be any walk in the park as the Cardinal try to overcome gifted passer Jared Goff and the dangerous California Golden Bears on Saturday. Now, let’s find out which teams will bring home the bacon in this intriguing Pac-12 pairing.

Cal @ Stanford NCAAF Betting Game Information and Odds

When: 10:30 PM ET, Saturday, November 21, 2015 Where: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California TV: ESPN NCAAF Odds: Stanford Cardinal -11.5 Over/Under: 64.5

#BeatStanford #CutYouDown #BigGame #GoBears #CalFamily https://t.co/uS7ZkTHZWM

— Cal Football (@CalFootball) November 20, 2015

California Golden Bears (6-4 SU, 5-5 ATS)

Cal racked up an insane 760 yards of offense to pound Oregon State senseless in their 54-24 Week 11 win while covering the spread as a 21-point home favorite. Gifted quarterback Jared Goff completed 26 of 37 passes for 453 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in the win. The Bears took a 24-10 lead into the half and never looked back in becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2011. Cal rushed for a season-high 307 yards against the Beavers as running back Tre Watson rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries. For the season, Goff has thrown for 3319 yards with 30 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Bears are ranked 23rd in scoring (36.8 ppg) but just 78th in points allowed (28.2 ppg).

Stanford Cardinal (8-2 SU, 7-3 ATS)

Fifth-year senior quarterback Kevin Hogan completed 28 of 37 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while rushing 11 times for 48 yards and an additional score in Stanford’s heartbreaking 38-36 Week 12 loss against Oregon while never coming close to covering the spread as an 8.5-point home favorite. Gifted dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey rushed 33 times for 147 yards and one touchdown while catching five passes for 42 yards. The son of former NFL star Ed McCaffery leads the nation in all-purpose yards at 241.8 per game. For the season, Hogan has passed for 2,135 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Cardinal are ranked 22nd in scoring (37.0 ppg) and an impressive 34th in points allowed (22.0 ppg).

Cal @ Stanford NCAAF Betting Game Analysis:

Stanford has won five straight in this Pac-12 rivalry and I like them to get the win again while narrowly covering the spread, mostly because Cal’s defense has been nonexistent at times over their recent four-game slide. The Bears allowed over 40 points in two of those four losses while not scoring more than 28 points in any contest. I believe Stanford’s stout defense is going to force Jared Goff into one costly turnover at the very least, if not two. While the Golden Bears are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games, Cal is also just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games in the month of November and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record. Stanford has bounced back nicely from a loss by going 8-1 ATS in their last nine games following an SU loss while also going 7-2 ATS in their last nine games and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a winning record. With the Golden Bears going 1-4 ATS in their last five meetings and the favorite going a polar-opposite 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Stanford wins and cashes in! My Pick: Stanford 38 Cal 28