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Pac-12 Report - Week 7
October 12, 2012
By Joe Williams
VegasInsider.com
Editor's Note: Don't miss out on college football winners in Week 7 from Joe Williams. Click to win!
Big Ten · ACC · Pac-12
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The Cardinal and the Irish hook up in South Bend in one of the more anticipated games of the weekend. The brutal schedule for Notre Dame continues, but at least they play at home. That's fine with Stanford, though, as they are 12-3-1 ATS in their past 16 road games, and 9-4 ATS in their past 13 games against teams with a road record. Digging deeper, however, we find Stanford is just 4-9 ATS in their past 13 games aginst Independents. Hmm. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is an impressive 4-1 ATS in their past five games, including a 41-3 blasting of Miami last weekend in Chicago. If you had heard the Notre Dame defense was pretty good, they were right. But we learned that the Irish have a little something going on offensively, too. In this series, there are no skewed trends in favor of one team or another, but the under has cashed in five of the past six meetings. The under is also 17-5 in Notre Dame's past 22 home games, and 5-2 in Stanford's past seven road games. |
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The Trojans haven't exactly been cover kings this season, hitting the number just once in five games this season. However, they are 5-2 ATS in their past seven against Pac-12 opponents, and 5-2 ATS in their past seven games against teams with a winning record. The Huskies pulled off a signature win at home against Stanford a few weeks ago, but they were unable to carry that momentum to Eugene, losing 52-21 last week. Still, Washington is 2-1 ATS in their past three games, and those two covers came at home. Remember this, the Trojans are 2-5 ATS in their past seven meetings with U-Dub, and 2-5 ATS in their past seven trips to Seattle. The underdog, presumably, without looking, Washington every time, is 5-2 ATS in the past seven battles between these sides. |
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This game had the look of a marquee game until last week. The Beavers ended up losing QB Sean Mannion (knee) for at least two to four weeks due to torn cartilage in his knee, meaning QB Cody Vaz will make his first collegiate start. Going up against the vaunted BYU defense, which has allowed 10 total points over their past three games, it is a tall order for Vaz. It's also reason why there is a rare college total under 40 (currently at 37). The Cougs have problems of their own under center, as they lost versatile QB Taysom Hill (knee) to a knee injury last Friday. He is done for the season, and will be replaced, most likely, by former starter QB Riley Nelson. This game has the look of a slog, but under 37 is still a risky proposition. The Beavers are 4-1-1 ATS in their past six games, and the public apparently likes that. However, you have to remember Mannion is out, and this will look like a completely different offense against a stout D. The Cougs are 6-2 ATS in their past eight home games. |
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The Bruins are a difficult team to figure. They come into this game with a still impressive 4-2 record, but they were punished in Berkeley last week, 43-17. Really, they never win at Cal, but the Bears are not good this year, and the Bruins have looked better. Guess not. Suddenly, UCLA is just 1-2 ATS in their past three games, and they need to get untracked. Utah would seem like the perfect team to pick it up against, but they were spanked by the Utes 31-6 in the last meeting. Utah is 0-2 this season away from Rice-Eccles Stadium, however, so it will be an uphill climb. Utah is just 1-4 ATS in their past five road games against a team with a winning home record, and the Bruins are 5-1 ATS in their past six home games. If you don't have a sour taste in your mouth from past UCLA failures, and can look at this objectively, UCLA looks like the clear-cut play. However, keep in mind UCLA is just 7-16 ATS in their past 23 Pac-12 games, and 3-13 ATS in their past 16 games in the month of October. |
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California was a struggling 1-4 club, but they got well last week and whaled on UCLA 43-17. All of a sudden, things are looking up for head coach Jeff Tedford's bunch. This team can run the football with authority, and they could keep things going in the right direction with a win on the Palouse. The Bears are just 3-9 ATS in their past 12 road games, however, although they are an impressive 5-2 ATS in their past seven Pac-12 games. WaZu is 11-3 ATS in their past 14 games in the month of October. They are also 8-3 ATS in their past 11 meetings with Cal. However, the road team is 6-2 ATS in the past eight meetings, so be careful with the line. The over has cashed in five straight home games for Washington State, but the under is 11-4 in Cal's past 15 games. This game is a good idea to stay far away from. |
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