Stanford Cardinal vs. Rice Owls: Odds, Analysis, College Football Betting Pick

The Stanford Cardinal are 7-1 straight up over their last eight college football openers. The Rice Owls, on the other hand, are 1-7 SU over their last eight, but that's not the only reason the Cardinal are such heavy betting favorites for their season-opening meeting Saturday (10 p.m. ET) at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia. 

College football point spread: The Cardinal opened as 33.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 26.6-5.8, Cardinal (College football picks on every game)

Why the Cardinal can cover the spread

Stanford gets back 16 starters for this season, the most it's had in its seven seasons under head coach David Shaw. Eight starters are back on offense, including junior quarterback Keller Chryst, with whom the Cardinal averaged 37.2 points in his last six games last year, including four along the offensive line. Eight starters are also back from a defense that held opponents to 20.4 points per game last year.

Stanford just beat Rice back in last year's regular-season finale 41-17 out on the Farm. The Cardinal jumped out to leads of 20-0 and 41-10 but took their foot off the gas and eschewed the cover as 34-point favorites. Stanford outgained Rice that day 534-291, as the ground game racked up 373 yards.

Why the Owls can cover the spread

Rice returns 15 starters for a team looking to bounce back after going 3-9. The Owls started 1-8 last year but won two of their last three games and finished on a 3-0 run against the spread. Seven starters are back on offense, including last year's leading rusher, Samuel Stewart, and the entire offensive line. Eight starters are back on defense, anchored by the entire front four. So improvement is expected following a injury-plagued performance by that unit last year.

Rice, at No. 124 on the college football preseason power rankings at PredictionMachine.com, went 5-3 ATS as an underdog last season and 3-1 ATS when getting 20 points or more.

Smart betting pick

There's not much doubt as to the winner of this game; the only things that really matter will be the point spread and Stanford's margin of victory. But while the Cardinal own that nice opening-night run over recent seasons, they're also only 1-4 ATS over their last five openers because they've been favored by so much so often and they're not exactly blowing opponents out.

Also, Stanford might rest starters if it gets a lead in this game, with a big battle at USC next up on its slate. The Cardinal should win this game, but the smart money takes Rice and the points.

College football betting trends

Stanford is 5-0 SU in its last five games.

Rice is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games.

The total has gone over in five of Rice's last six games.

All college football odds and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.