Primetime College Football: Bears vs Cardinal
Stanford (7-3) is playing its best football of late, beating Oregon 51-42 on Nov. 7 and knocking off USC 55-21 last Saturday to move into the thick of the Pac-10 race. The Cardinal can earn a Rose Bowl bid by beating California (7-3) at home and getting losses by Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona down the stretch. The turnaround engineered by coach Jim Harbaugh from a 1-11 season under Walt Harris to now has been nothing short of remarkable.
TALENT
Harbaugh has a 16-18 record in three years at Stanford, beating USC twice and Cal once during his tenure. He has qualified Stanford for its first bowl game since 2001.
Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is the nation’s most underrated player and has rushed for 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns and is currently second in the nation in rushing yards per game with 139.5 ypg. The quarterback of the Cardinal is Andrew Luck, and he has completed 58.0 percent of his passes for 2,220 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions to go along with a pair of rushing scores. Ryan Whalen has 46 catches to pace Stanford, and he has racked up 763 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
While Stanford is averaging 36.1 ppg and 445.6 total ypg, the team is allowing 24.2 ppg and 383.4 total ypg to its opponents. The Cardinal are rather average defensively, as they are permitting 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 11.3 yards per pass completion. The fact that opposing quarterbacks have thrown 14 touchdowns against Stanford with only six interceptions is a bit concerning. Thomas Keiser is a player to watch for the Cardinal, as he has 12 tackles for loss this season, including eight sacks.
Jeff Tedford Golden Bears will again be short-handed for the game as star tailback Jahvid Best recovers from a concussion. Best sustained his second concussion in an eight-day period when he fell on his back and head from about 8 feet in the air Nov. 7 against Oregon State. Best returned to the team late last week and was an honorary captain before the Golden Bears beat Arizona last Saturday. Best has 16 touchdowns and 867 yards rushing this season.
Backup Shane Vereen ran for a career-high 159 yards, including a late 61-yard touchdown, last week that led Cal past Arizona 24-16 and 545 yards and seven scores on 105 carries for the season. The Golden Bears have won four of their last five games to move to 4-3 in conference play
The Golden Bears are averaging 30.7 ppg this season to go along with 401.5 total ypg. They have scored 37 offensive touchdowns, 22 of which have come on the ground. rushed for 545 yards and seven scores on 105 carries. Without Best, some added pressure falls upon Kevin Riley, the team’s quarterback, who has completed 55.8 percent of his passes for 2,186 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions. Marvin Jones, the club’s top wideout, has made 28 catches for 455 yards and five scores.
Opponents are scoring 22.4 ppg against California, which is allowing 372.8 total ypg. The Golden Bears have been tough against the run, permitting foes to gain only 104.0 rushing ypg at a clip of 3.1 yards per carry. Against the pass, Cal has struggled a bit, yielding nearly 270 yards per contest. Mike Mohamed has made 90 tackles for the Golden Bears, 31 more than his closest teammate.
Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is the nation’s most underrated player and has rushed for 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns and is currently second in the nation in rushing yards per game with 139.5 ypg. The quarterback of the Cardinal is Andrew Luck, and he has completed 58.0 percent of his passes for 2,220 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions to go along with a pair of rushing scores. Ryan Whalen has 46 catches to pace Stanford, and he has racked up 763 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
While Stanford is averaging 36.1 ppg and 445.6 total ypg, the team is allowing 24.2 ppg and 383.4 total ypg to its opponents. The Cardinal are rather average defensively, as they are permitting 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 11.3 yards per pass completion. The fact that opposing quarterbacks have thrown 14 touchdowns against Stanford with only six interceptions is a bit concerning. Thomas Keiser is a player to watch for the Cardinal, as he has 12 tackles for loss this season, including eight sacks.
PICK: Stanford University Cardinal
