Week 9 College Football Picks: Stanford Cardinal vs. USC Trojans, Prop Bets

The Stanford Cardinal (7-0) are set to invade Southern California and take on the USC Trojans (6-1) Saturday night in a primetime Pac-12 Conference showdown on ABC.

Kickoff from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 8:00 (EDT) and will feature two of the best signal-callers in college football.

Stanford Heisman Trophy candidate Andrew Luck will likely be chosen No. 1 in the 2012 NFL draft, while USC's Matt Barkley is searching for his first win in the series.

Let's take a look at three proposition wagers that will have you cashing at the windows in this marquee matchup.

Team to Score First

The road team has scored first in both meetings between Matt Barkley and Andrew Luck, which has me looking squarely at the visitor striking first inside the Coliseum.

Stanford has also given up just seven points in the first quarter, while also outscoring its last 20 opponents by a 453-145 margin in the first half.

Pick:  Stanford to score first (-155)

Most Passing Yards

Perhaps I'm walking into an oddsmakers' trap, but USC quarterback Matt Barkley should definitely finish with more passing yards.

He holds a combined 586-429 edge in the category in the first two meetings, which includes a 390-yard performance in last year's 37-35 loss as 10-point road underdogs.

Andrew Luck is certainly capable in going off, but the Stanford running game is actually its biggest strength against opponents.

Everyone may be anticipating a Heisman Trophy-type performance from the Dallas native, but the Cardinal have actually called running plays 54.8 percent of the time in 2011.

Stanford is a solid 7.5-point road favorite—leading me to believe that head coach David Shaw may be looking to kill the clock in the fourth quarter.

Pick:  Matt Barkley (-15.5) passing yards over Andrew Luck (-120)

Robert Woods, Receptions

USC Trojans wide receiver Robert Woods is second nationally in averaging 10.3 receptions a game and likely had a little extra bounce in his step looking ahead to his second game against Stanford.

The sophomore sensation finished with 12 catches and 224 yards and three touchdowns in last year's meeting in Palo Alto.

Interestingly enough, one of the sharpest books in the industry is begging to draw action to the over with this proposition offering.

I'm not going along for the ride.

Pick:  Under 9.5 receptions (-110)