Washington Huskies vs. Stanford Cardinal Betting Odds, College Football Pick

Stanford is 6-1 in its last seven meetings with Washington, but the Huskies are 3-0 against the spread the last three meetings, covering each time out as betting underdogs. They'll go off as dogs again when they clash with the Cardinal Saturday night for Homecoming out on the Farm.

Point spread: This game opened off the board at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 30.1-17.5 Cardinal

Why the Washington Huskies can cover the spread

Washington is 3-3 this season, but 4-2 ATS, even after last week's 26-20 loss to Oregon. The Huskies fell down 23-6 midway through the third quarter, rallied to within one score with just under four minutes to go, but couldn't quite complete the comeback. On the night Washington ran the ball for 180 yards, but the U-Dub defense, which has played fairly well so far this season, allowed the Ducks to go 9-of-18 on third-down conversions.

Two weeks ago, though, the Huskies pulled off their biggest victory in a season-plus under head coach Chris Petersen, upsetting USC down in Los Angeles 17-12.

Offensively Washington is still trying to piece things together, but the defense ranks near the top 30 in the country in a couple of key categories. If the Huskies can ugly this game up a bit, hold Stanford in the 20s or even the low 30s, they could cash.

Why the Stanford Cardinal can cover the spread

Since dropping their season opener at Northwestern the Cardinal have won and covered five games in a row. Last Thursday Stanford jumped out early on UCLA and never let up, winning 56-35, easily covering as a seven-point home favorite. The Cardinal led 14-3 seven minutes in, and later 56-20, before letting the Bruins score a couple of meaningless touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

On the night Stanford ran the ball for 310 yards, as running back Christian McCaffrey set one school record and tied another with 243 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first three quarters.

At 4-0 in conference play, with a game-and-a-half lead in the Pac-12 North, the Cardinal can almost already smell that conference championship game berth.

Smart pick

Stanford has outrushed six of seven opponents this season, while Washington has been outrushed in three of its last four games. Also, the Cardinal are averaging 49 points per game in conference play. Finally, Huskies quarterback Jake Browning is iffy for this week with a shoulder injury, via the Seattle Times' Adam Jude. Stanford is the smart play here.

Betting trends

Stanford is 16-0 SU in its last 16 games at home is October.

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

Washington is 4-16 SU in its last 20 games on the road in October.

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.