Stanford Football: Can Cardinal rebound with big win over Utah?

Stanford football looks to rebound from its first loss of the season with a strong start to October against Utah. Can the Cardinal take down the Utes?

Stanford fell big on the road at Notre Dame in Week 5, ending their undefeated run and dropping the Cardinal out of the top 10 of the AP Top 25. But David Shaw’s team is still unbeaten in Pac-12 play, and they remain a threat to win the Pac-12 North and play for the conference crown.

Things haven’t been perfect for the Cardinal, though. Bryce Love, who entered 2018 as a Heisman frontrunner after a massive junior season, has been held under 100 rushing yards in three of his first four games of the season. As a result, Stanford ranks 123rd nationally in rushing offense, a massive turnaround from last year’s prolific backfield effort.

Utah, meanwhile, is 2-2 and riding a two-game Pac-12 losing streak. The Utes opened up conference play with back-to-back losses against the Washington schools, and now they face yet another Pac-12 North opponent as they get most of their tough interconference play out of the way in the first half of the season.

Tyler Huntley has regressed in his second year as the starting quarterback, with his completion rate falling by more than four percent and his yards per attempt tumbling by nearly 1.4 yards. But the Utes boast the third-best rushing defense in the country, which gives them a shot at slowing down Stanford’s depleted production on the ground even further.

Can the Utes make that translate into an upset under the lights in the Bay Area? Here’s how you can watch the Saturday night #Pac12AfterDark action between No. 14 Stanford and Utah:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Stanford, Calif.
Venue: Stanford Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

First and foremost, Stanford is not going to remain a Pac-12 North contender for long if Bryce Love continues to struggle through his last year with the Cardinal. He needs to crack the riddle of a stout Utah front seven to give the hosts a shot at the victory. K.J. Costello needs to have another efficient game as well, as the sophomore has stepped up and become the focal point of the Cardinal offense.

Utah, meanwhile, needs their young quarterback to step up big. Huntley needs to keep the chains moving early and often, both for the Utes to get into scoring range and put points on the board and to keep the Stanford offense off the field. The nation’s No. 5 defense needs to just keep doing what they have been doing, so the offense is the real variable that will determine if Kyle Whittingham’s crew can win on the road.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: Stanford -3.5
Over/Under: 46

Prediction

Stanford has enjoyed more consistent quarterback play so far this season, and that trend will continue Saturday night on the Farm. Bryce Love will not break 75 rushing yards as Utah shuts him down, but Costello will put up a strong passing game as the Cardinal prevail at home. In the process, Utah will fall below .500 and Stanford will complete the first half of their 2018 campaign still perfect in conference play, but take the points with Utah and bet under in this defensive battle.

Final Score: Stanford 23, Utah 20