Stanford Cardinal vs. Arizona State Sun Devils: Betting Odds and Prediction

Stanford owns the rivalry with Arizona State as of late, winning the last four meetings—including last year's Pac-12 Championship Game—and going 3-0-1 against the spread in the process. The Cardinal will try to keep that run going when they visit Tempe to take on the Sun Devils in a key Pac-12 battle Saturday night.

Point Spread: The Cardinal opened as 4.5-point favorites at Sun Devil Stadium.

Odds Shark Computer Pick: Sun Devils 37.8, Cardinal 36.1

Why the Stanford Cardinal Can Cover the Spread

The Cardinal bounced back after the tough loss at Notre Dame to beat Washington State last Friday 34-17, sneaking out a cover as 16.5-point favorites by scoring one last touchdown with just under two minutes to go.

Stanford, now 4-2 overall, 2-1 and tied for the lead in the Pac-12 North, gained 477 yards to the Cougars' 266 and ran for 193 yards. Quarterback Kevin Hogan had one of his better days of late, throwing three touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

On the season, the Cardinal rank second in the nation in total defense, allowing just 238 yards per game, and first in points allowed at just 10 per game.

Why the Arizona State Sun Devils Can Cover the Spread

The Sun Devils also bounced back from defeat their last time out, following up that debacle against UCLA with a near-miracle 38-34 victory at USC two weeks ago.

ASU then had last week off. The Devils trailed the Trojans by nine points with three minutes to go, but scored twice on Mike Bercovici touchdown passes—the second a 46-yard connection with Jaelen Strong on the final play of the game, stunning the crowd at the Coliseum.

Arizona State, now 4-1 straight up, 2-1 and tied for second place in the Pac-12 South, rushed for 31 yards to USC's 220, but Bercovici threw for 510 yards, five touchdowns and no picks in just his second career start.

On the season, the Sun Devils rank seventh in the country in total offense at 557 yards per game.

Smart Pick

The Cardinal have been a great conference road bet lately, going 12-4-1 ATS in their last 17 Pac-12 road contests.

Also, the last time these teams met, last December at Sun Devil Stadium, Stanford dominated from the start, eventually gaining 517 yards to ASU's 311 on its way to a 38-14 conference championship game victory.

In battles between great offenses and great defenses, smart money resides with the defense. So the pick here goes with the Cardinal, minus the points.

Betting Trends

• Stanford is 2-4 SU in its last six games when playing on the road against Arizona State.
• Arizona State is 4-2 SU in its last six games when playing at home against Stanford.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.