Stanford Cardinal vs. Washington Huskies Betting Odds: Analysis and Prediction

The unbeaten Washington Huskies will face their first real test of the season when they open Pac-12 play by hosting the Stanford Cardinal Saturday.

The Huskies are a perfect 4-0 straight up this year but just 1-3 against the spread, with their first two wins having been decided by a total of eight points.

Point spread: The Cardinal opened as 5.5-point favorites at Husky Stadium, but it was 7.5 points as of Thursday, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The total was 48 (line updates and matchup report).

Odds Shark computer prediction: 40.7-32.1 Cardinal

Why the Stanford Cardinal can cover the spread

Washington has not played anybody yet, while Stanford has covered the spread in two of its first three games and had a bye week to prepare for the Huskies. Defensively, the Cardinal cannot play much better, surrendering a total of 13 points this season, with all of them coming in a 13-10 home loss to the USC Trojans on September 6.

Stanford bounced back from that loss with a 35-0 win over Army right before the bye, covering as a 29.5-point favorite.

The Cardinal have gone 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings at Washington and 12-3-1 versus the line in their past 16 road games against conference opponents, according to the Odds Shark college football database.

Why the Washington Huskies can cover the spread

The Huskies are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games against Pac-12 foes, and new head coach Chris Petersen finally gets to be involved in a conference game. The former coach of the Boise State Broncos enjoyed a lot of success in the WAC and Mountain West, going 57-6 (90 percent) in eight seasons, and he knows how important these league games are.

Offensively, Washington has been a scoring machine since barely beating Hawaii 17-16 in the season opener and failing to cover as a 17-point road favorite. The Huskies have averaged 49.3 points per game in their past three and limited Illinois and Georgia State to 33 points combined in their last two. Bettors have to like the fact that they are getting nearly a touchdown at home for Washington here.

Smart Pick

This play all comes down to whether you believe the Huskies can score like they have been over the past three games. While Stanford’s defense has been outstanding, the team has not played an offense like Washington’s yet this year.

Petersen inherited a schedule with easy opponents early on, but he has used this time to fine-tune the offense and prepare it for conference play. The Huskies have covered the last two meetings with the Cardinal as similar dogs, and they even won the last home game between the teams 17-13 in 2012, which happened to be the lone non-cover for Stanford in the past five at Washington.

Look for the Huskies to keep this one close again, with the possibility of pulling off the upset in front of their home fans.

Trends

• Stanford is 5-1 SU in its last six games when playing Washington.
• Stanford is 12-3-1 ATS in its last 16 road games vs. Pac-12 foes.

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