Stanford Cardinal vs. Colorado Buffaloes Betting Odds, College Football Pick

Stanford just had a six-game against-the-spread winning streak snapped, while Colorado is 2-0 ATS since snapping a four-game spread losing streak. The championship-minded Cardinal take on the rebuilding Buffaloes Saturday afternoon in Boulder.

Point spread: The Cardinal opened as 16-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 37.8-23.4 Cardinal

Why the Stanford Cardinal can cover the spread

Stanford increased its lead in the Pac-12 North last week, holding off upset-minded Washington State 30-28 up in rainy Pullman.

The Cardinal fell behind the Cougars 22-10 midway through the third quarter, took a two-point lead with a field goal with two minutes to go, then watched as the Cougars kicker pushed a 43-yard field-goal attempt wide-right at the buzzer.

On the night, Stanford got outgained by Washington State by 130 yards but racked up 226 yards on the ground. Meanwhile the Cardinal defense held the Cougars to a 2-of-14 performance on third downs and stymied a crucial two-point conversion attempt.

Two weeks ago Stanford covered 14 points against Washington; just before that the Cardinal covered at six points over UCLA; just before that they covered 12 points over Arizona; just before that they covered 14 points at Oregon State; just before that they “upset” USC outright as nine-point dogs; and just before that they covered 20 points against Central Florida. So Stanford is on a money-making roll.

Why the Colorado Buffaloes can cover the spread

The Buffaloes just lost a tough contest at UCLA last week, 35-31, but covered as three-touchdown dogs.

Colorado spotted the Bruins the first 14 points of the game, later trailed 21-3 and rallied all the way back to take a 31-28 lead early in the fourth quarter but gave up that advantage and came up short on two late drives.

On the day, the Buffaloes outgained UCLA by 150 yards, outrushed the Bruins 242-139 and won time of possession by a lopsided 41-19 margin. But they gave up a long UCLA defensive touchdown from deep in the Bruins' red zone and missed a very makeable field goal, and that's at least a 13-point swing right there.

Two weeks ago Colorado won at Oregon State 17-13, rushing for 188 yards, taking that game outright as a one-point road dog. And just before that the Buffs lost at home to Arizona 38-31, just missing on the cover as six-point home dogs. So perhaps this program is making some progress in its third season under head coach Mike MacIntyre.

Smart pick

Stanford is very likely to win this game, and playing on the road means the spread isn't as bad as it might be if this game were being played elsewhere. Also, Colorado just gave a big effort in coming up short at UCLA and might be ripe for a letdown. Take the Cardinal to take the cash in this spot.

Betting trends

Stanford is 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in its last seven games.

Stanford is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games on the road in November.

Colorado is 0-6 SU in its last six games in November.

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.