TheSpread.com

OC Dooley

Stanford / Washington Over 48

For a game from the normally high scoring Pac-12 conference we are looking at a relatively low spot that has dropped from the opening offshore figure of 49-and-a-half points.  The sinking number comes as no personal shock as an ESPN collegiate audience at this exact time one week ago was put through an extremely low scoring 7-6 contest that was played at Boise State.  Exactly one week ago the country got to see a depleted Boise State offense operating without a star quarterback that has since graduated.  Of course we have a similar situation with Stanford who no longer has #1 overall NFL draft pick Andrew Luck leading their attack.  The Cardinal still have a very strong defense which two weeks ago in a stunning upset of Southern California produced 2 interceptions and 4 sacks of elite signal caller Matt Barkley.  The problem for the Stanford stop-unit is that they have had a full two weeks to think about that stellar performance and may not be ready for the schemes of aggressive Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian who at one time directed the offense of Southern California.  My research indicates that Washington is 23-10 OVER the total long term when facing a quality defensive opponent who on average allows less than 4.6 yards per play.  Both sides involved in this contest have been “under” teams but Washington averages a healthy 36 points per game at home, while Stanford is putting up 30 points per contest so far.