Pac-10 vs. ACC – Stanford Cardinals at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

NCAA Football Odds

Stanford Cardinal (1-0 SU & ATS) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-1 SU & ATS)

Saturday, September 12 – Noon ET

BetOnline NCAA Football Odds: WAKE FOREST -3, Total 43.5

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• STAN has covered four of its last five games
• STAN has lost four of its last six games SU
• STAN has played four of its last five games OVER the total
• STAN has covered three of its last ten road games
• STAN has lost four of its last five road games SU
• STAN has played six of its last eight road games OVER the total
• WAKE has covered three of its last nine games
• WAKE has won 17 of its last 25 games SU
• WAKE has played eight of its last 12 games UNDER the total
• WAKE has won 12 of its last 15 home games SU
• WAKE has played four of its last six home games OVER the total

Jim Harbaugh, the former Bears and Colts quarterback who took over the head coaching job at Stanford a couple of years ago, has brought in a lot of strong high school talent. With 17 starters having returned from last year’s squad, he has his Cardinal club in a position where it can make a little noise in the Pac-10 and certainly improve its NCAA football odds.

Stanford was about as impressive as it had to be against Washington State in the opening game, rolling to a 39-13 win and gaining 481 yards in the process. Toby Gerhart, who has a couple of ways to go, in that he’s also an outstanding baseball player, rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Andrew Luck, a redshirt freshman who came to Stanford as a highly-touted recruit, made no mistakes and sustained only one sack, but was still only 11 of 23.

Wake Forest had beaten Baylor 41-13 last season, winning big in the NCAA football odds, but dropped a 24-21 decision to the Bears last weekend. Consistency on offense was a big problem, as Riley Skinner was intercepted three times, and the defense could not keep the Baylor running game in check.

Losing current NFL linebackers Aaron Curry and Stanley Arnoux was clearly a big blow to the defense, and to Wake’s shot at beating those NCAA football odds throughout the schedule. That home game was not a good effort, and you can be assured that coach Jim Grobe, who prides himself on having teams who minimize mistakes and do the fundamental things right, will be working overtime in an effort to get things going back in the right direction.

On the other hand, Skinner’s range is somewhat limited, and Wake does not have the defense or special teams it has enjoyed previously during Grobe’s reign. That’s when they defied the NCAA football odds by taking trips to bowl games, including one BCS appearance. Luck should be even steadier now that he has had a road start under his belt, and there are certainly some fundamental advantages Stanford can extract on either front line. Gerhart is obviously a key, and there might be an opportunity for tight end/fullback Konrad Reuland, a big prospect, to find room underneath.

There would be a concern with a noon kickoff time for a team from the west coast traveling east, but Harbaugh is taking all measures to combat that, including setting special wake-up times for his team this week – 6:30 AM on Monday and Tuesday, 5:30 AM on Wednesday and then 4:30 AM on Thursday. Stanford also flew in to North Carolina on Thursday. What may be more of a concern for Wake Forest is the team’s 1-11 ATS record in the last dozen against non-conference foes.

We’re taking the points with Stanford, the three-point underdog in the BetOnline NCAA football odds.

JAY’S PLAY: STANFORD +3 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)