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Stanford football vs. Rice: 3 bold predictions

By Andrew Miller

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 22: Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw speaks to the media during the 2017 US College Football Sydney Cup Launch at the Sydney overseas passenger terminal on August 22, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 22: Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw speaks to the media during the 2017 US College Football Sydney Cup Launch at the Sydney overseas passenger terminal on August 22, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /
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Stanford football takes on Rice in the night cap of the opening day of the college football season. Here are three bold predictions for the Cardinal’s first game.

The college football season kicks off soon. Fans rejoice as the best time of the year for football fanatics has finally arrived. College football is kicking off and the NFL starting its regular season very soon. The first weekend of action is void of many big games. The Oregon State Beavers take on the Colorado State Rams, the South Florida Bulls take on San Jose State and the Stanford Cardinal face the Rice Owls.

Saturday’s slate stars off with Oregon State and Colorado State at 2:30 p.m. ET. However, the biggest game of the day, Stanford vs. Rice, kicks off at 10 p.m. Stanford is without one of their biggest stars in program history. Running back Christian McCaffrey departed for the NFL and now sits in the backfield for the Carolina Panthers. That leaves potential breakout star Bryce Love as the starting rusher.

More: 2017 Stanford football projected 2-deep depth chart

Stanford and Rice will be televised on ESPN. This is a neutral site game, taking place in Sydney, Australia. The Cardinal should be the heavy favorite. Rice finished off their 2016 campaign with a 41-17 loss against Stanford. Playing the Cardinal two games in a row is not an easy draw for a Rice team that only won three games last year.

The AP top 25 and the Coaches Poll both had Stanford ranked No. 14 in the country. This could be one of the biggest blowouts of the weekend. Stanford fans at least get to see what Love and quarterback Keller Chryst have in store for the 2017 campaign.

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