No. 23 Stanford (-3) @ No. 17 Arizona State TV: ESPN 10:30 pm Saturday
Daniel: What do we do with Arizona State? The Sun Devils got ransacked by UCLA at home a few weeks ago and then went on the road and beat a decent USC squad last week. ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly should be back this week, but it’s hard to say how that will affect the Sun Devils since backup quarterback Mike Bercovici played so well. Coach Todd Graham has said both could play this weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see how that all plays out. Stanford is a quality team, but has lost both games against ranked opponents. They’ve been close, but haven’t proven that they can win the tough game yet. Winner: Arizona State 31-27
Houston: To me, this game is all about defense. Stanford is great at it and Arizona State is not. I think that Stanford’s offense will do just enough in this one to squeak out another win for the Cardinal, who are a mere six points away from an undefeated season to this point despite an offense that can’t seem to get out of their own way. I think the offense takes a step forward in this one and Stanford escapes with the win. Winner: Stanford 30-20
Reed: I keep picking Stanford in big games (against USC and Notre Dame particularly) and they keep letting me down. This is a classic matchup of a pass-happy Pac-12 offense against a real defense. Arizona State ranks second in the Pac-12 offense while Stanford leads the conference in defense. ASU QB Taylor Kelly returned to practice this week after missing the last two games. He still may not play and, especially if he doesn’t, I like Stanford’s top-rated defense to slow ASU enough to pick up a close win. Winner: Cardinal 28-24
Kevin: This is the game you will bet on when Ole Miss has (probably) put the death blow on the Vols, odds are you will be intoxicated, and angry, and this will be the game you recklessly bet on because you just want to feel alive again. The smartest decision here is to walk away, but if you must choose take the road favorite in Stanford. Generally I advise against betting against home dogs with comparable talent to the team they’re playing; however this is simply a case of elite defense versus tremendous offense. As the saying goes, offense wins games, defense wins bets you make under the influence. Winner: Stanford 35-28
