Oregon Ducks @ Stanford Cardinal (+5.5) NCAA Pick & Preview: Stanford is one of the best teams in the Nation that nobody knows about. What does that mean to you? It means they are a great bet. They’ve had a couple tough losses over the last three games, going just 1-2 during that stretch. But this spread is not right. First of all, it’s even better (for Stanford side) now than it was when I made the pick. The Cardinal are now getting a full touchdown at home. They are a physical team that matches up well with Oregon, and the Ducks are just coming off a huge emotional high after upsetting the Trojans (though it was hardly an upset, they’re better than USC).

Regardless, the value is in Stanford’s corner. Andrew Luck is a very good quarterback that nobody knows. The Cardinal have a very physical offense line that should give Oregon’s defense lots of trouble. Both these teams run the ball very well, Stanford doesn’t have as many big plays, but they get first downs, shorten games, and end up on top more often than not. Like I said, they’ve struggled a bit over their last few games, but this is a good team that has a lot to prove as big home dogs to the Ducks.

The Cardinal are undefeated at home this season, and seem to really flourish with their home crowd behind them. Oregon is good, no doubt, but expect a let down a week after the SC win. Oregon has won 7 straight games against Stanford, and a lot of those weren’t close. All these things will weigh in, and I think that favors Stanford here.