Stanford at No. 8 UCLA (-5.5) Friday 3:30 pm ABC
Daniel: Amazingly, the Cardinal have only won back-to-back games once this season and that was back in mid-September. Stanford is coming off a win at California, but that trend of struggling the following week will likely continue when they travel to UCLA this weekend. The Bruins are hot, with five straight wins, including quality wins over USC and Arizona in the process. It’s hard to bet against Brett Hundley and UCLA at this point. Stanford’s defense will keep them from running away, but I’ll take the Bruins by two scores. Winner: UCLA 23-10
Houston: You can’t win if you can’t score, and Stanford has struggled to score all season long. The Cardinal has a stout defense, but they have a tendency to wear down late in games. UCLA has a defense good enough to slow down Stanford’s attack, and an offense that is battle tested against some strong defenses this season. This UCLA team knows how to win close games, and I think they do it again in this matchup. Brett Hundley makes enough plays late to give UCLA the California state championship with wins over Cal, Southern Cal and Stanford. Winner: Bruins 27-24
Reed: Stanford has been a giant let down this year. Their defense has been stout, as always, but their offense has really struggled to consistently produce. UCLA, despite abysmal play from their offensive line early in the season, is just one win away from the Pac-12 South crown. The Bruins have the No. 5 offense and No. 3 defense in the Pac-12. They’re the more balanced team and should win this one comfortably. Winner: Bruins 24-14
Wes: Consecutive October losses to Utah and Oregon look like blips on UCLA’s radar. Since then, Jim Mora’s team is 5-0 and sits a win away from the division title. However, questions remain. Will we see the team that required double overtime to hold off hapless Colorado or the squad that mauled USC last week? Stanford’s defense, ranked seventh nationally, threatens to reintroduce us to the former. The Cardinal are without leading receiver Ty Montgomery, but they’ll keep things close before losing late. Winner: UCLA 24-16
