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The UCLA Bruins take on the Stanford Cardinal. Check out our college football odds series for our UCLA Stanford prediction and pick. Find how to watch UCLA Stanford.
The UCLA Bruins are trying to survive in the Pac-12 Conference without a fully-proven quarterback. Freshman Dante Moore shows flashes of brilliance, but as a young player, he is going through growing pains. The talent is there, but it will require time to be cultivated and polished. A few very special freshmen are able to be great from the start and immediately dominate college football. Two obvious examples are the first two freshmen to win the Heisman Trophy, Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M in 2012 and Jameis Winston of Florida State in 2014. Those are the exceptions. The norm is for players such as Moore to go through rough times in Year 1 before putting all the pieces together in their sophomore and junior seasons. Such has been the case for UCLA this season. There's a lot of raw potential, but the timetable for development will be longer than a full year. The Bruins have to allow their offense some time to improve while the defense has to hold things together. The problem: If the defense doesn't hold together, the Bruins are in trouble. We saw why last weekend against Oregon State. The Bruins gave up 36 points. They have no chance if they give up that many points.
Against Stanford, UCLA faces an opposing offense it should be able to shut down. However, Stanford came back from a 29-0 deficit one week ago to shock Colorado and Deion Sanders in overtime. Is Stanford a lot better than previously thought, or was that a one-off occurrence? It builds intrigue for this game in Week 8.
Here are the UCLA-Stanford College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: UCLA-Stanford Odds
UCLA Bruins: -17 (-105)
Stanford Cardinal: +17 (-115)
Over: 54.5 (-105)
Under: 54.5 (-115)
How To Watch UCLA vs Stanford
Time: 10:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm PT
TV: ESPN
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why UCLA Could Cover the Spread
The Bruins won't be shredded on defense the way they were against Oregon State. Whereas Oregon State has a very strong offensive line and can dominate the line of scrimmage, Stanford does not have nearly as much strength or depth up front. UCLA's defensive line, which played really well in previous weeks against Washington State and Utah, should be able to control the line of scrimmage against Stanford. If the Bruins do that, they won't merely win; they will win big. UCLA can hold Stanford to 10 points in this game. As long as the Bruins score 28 or more in that scenario, they will cover the spread.
It is true that the UCLA offense is a work in progress, but it did score a respectable 24 points against Oregon State. If UCLA can score 24 against Oregon State, it can score 31 or more versus Stanford.
Why Stanford Could Cover the Spread
The Cardinal have historically played UCLA closely. Stanford has been a thorny opponent for UCLA to play in most meetings over the past decade. It is true that Stanford no longer has David Shaw as head coach, but these Stanford players know that UCLA is not invincible. Also, these Stanford players just came back from a 29-point deficit on the road in front of a sold-out crowd in Boulder against the Colorado Buffaloes and Coach Prime, Deion Sanders. That kind of performance boosts confidence and belief in a locker room. It's exactly the motivational fuel Stanford can use to keep this game close.
Final UCLA-Stanford Prediction & Pick
This is a game to stay away from. We don't know if Stanford's comeback against Colorado means the Cardinal are clearly better. We also don't know if UCLA scoring 24 at Oregon State means the Bruins' offense is clearly better.
Final UCLA-Stanford Prediction & Pick: Stanford +17
