College Football Week 11 Picks: Oregon Ducks vs. Stanford Cardinal

The AP No. 6 Oregon Ducks (8-1) and AP No. 3 Stanford Cardinal (9-0) will meet up in a Pac-12 Conference showdown Saturday night in Palo Alto, Calif. inside Stanford Stadium.

Oddsmakers opened up the Cardinal as three-point home favorites, seeing that number rise a half point despite receiving split action in the early wagering.

Many around Stanford's picturesque campus are calling this the biggest home game in school history, especially with ESPN's College GameDay coming on site.

Let's take a closer look at this battle from a betting perspective.

Andrew Luck, Stanford Cardinal QB

Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck is the overwhelming favorite to walk away with the 2011 Heisman Trophy in December, completing 194 of 272 passes for 26 touchdowns and five interceptions.

In last year's 52-31 loss to the Oregon Ducks as 6.5-point road underdogs, Luck finished the contest with 341 passing yards, while also throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions.

He came out on top in this Pac-12 Conference rivalry in his first year on campus, finishing the game with 251 passing yards and two touchdowns, but the team was paced by running back Toby Gerhart's 223 rushing yards.

The spotlight will be bright Saturday night.

Oregon Ducks Series' Dominance

The Oregon Ducks have proven victorious in eight of the last nine meetings with Stanford, something sharp bettors will love to wager on toward the end of the week.

Stanford is going to receive plenty of support at the betting window, coming in as the nation's only team with a perfect against-the-spread record.

Oregon's offense is always revved up when facing Stanford, averaging 46.0 points per game over the last six meetings in this series.

Stanford Cardinal Against-the-Spread Record

The Stanford Cardinal have registered a perfect 9-0 against-the-spread record this year, lining the pockets of backers throughout the 2011 campaign.

It's a very surprising statistic when considering the team has Andrew Luck under center, who is the leading candidate to walk away with the Heisman Trophy.

Over the last two-plus seasons, Stanford is 12-4 ATS at home, while posting a 25-9 overall ATS mark over that span.

Oregon Ducks Versus Top 5 Teams on the Road

The Oregon Ducks have rebounded from a 40-27 season-opening loss to the LSU Tigers as three-point neutral site favorites inside Cowboys Stadium on Sept. 3, rattling off eight consecutive wins.

That particular Pac-12 vs. SEC showdown featured Top 10 teams, something that will be duplicated inside Stanford Stadium on Saturday night.

Stanford enters as the No. 3 team in the AP Top 25 poll, which is significant due to Oregon never beating a top-five team on the road.

In fact, Oregon fans haven't watched their beloved team knock off a top-10 foe in a true road game since 1997.

Stanford Cardinal Running Game

Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck gets most of the notoriety offensively, but the program's running game will be the key Saturday.

Oregon has lost two games since the beginning of the 2010 season, failing to win the ground battle against Auburn and LSU.

The Ducks were actually out-gained by a combined 429-170 margin in those affairs.

Stanford's attack averages 224.7 rushing yards per game, which is good enough for 17th in the country, trailing only the Oregon Ducks in that particular category in the Pac-12 Conference.

How the West was won will likely be determined on the ground.

Oregon Ducks' Pac-12 Conference Record

Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly will put his 23-1 conference record to the test Saturday, which includes a current 18-game win streak in such tilts.

It's important to note his only blemish against conference opponents came in a 51-42 setback as 6.5-point road favorites versus Stanford on Nov. 7, 2009.

The Ducks are 14-9 ATS versus conference foes over the last two-plus campaigns.

Pick

Both teams love to start fast offensively, but Stanford is tremendous when given the opportunity to score, coming into Saturday's game a perfect 52-of-52 in the red zone.

The Cardinal also come in knowing they had the Oregon Ducks on the ropes last year, jumping out to a 21-3 lead, but ultimately falling in a 52-31 final.

Andrew Luck has allowed the team to outscore its last 22 opponents by a significant 480-158 margin in the first half.

Sports books will be offering plenty of proposition wagers for this prime-time contest, offering value in a game that will likely fall around the established betting odds.

I'll be cheering the Cardinal on to score first and enjoy the rest of the game.

Pick: Stanford Cardinal to score first.