The Arizona Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal meet Saturday in college football action from Stanford Stadium. Arizona last played UTEP last weekend. The Wildcats would go on to win by 21 points. As for Stanford, they’re coming off a game versus Sacramento State. In that one the Cardinal fell to 1-2 with a seven-point defeat. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Arizona Wildcats 

The Wildcats’ season kicked off with a pretty routine matchup against Northern Arizona. Things went how you might expect: Arizona tallied 478 yards (292 passing) in a 38-3 blowout win. In game two versus Mississippi State, things were tougher. The Wildcats forced overtime with 10 fourth-quarter points but ended up losing 31-24 after coming up empty in the extra period. 

Matched up against UTEP on Saturday, Arizona held a 14-3 lead going into the second half. The Wildcats scored 17 more points from there in a 31-10 win. QB Jayden de Laura finished with 285 yards and three touchdowns, and Michael Wiley had 17 carries for 83 yards and a TD. Tetairoa McMillan had 89 yards with a score on six catches as well. 

Arizona Wildcats Team Facts

Arizona has lost 14 of its last 15 road games against conference opponents.
Arizona has covered the spread in four of its last five September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Arizona has lost the first half in six of its last seven games against conference opponents.
Six of Arizona’s last seven games have gone UNDER the total points line.

Stanford Cardinal 

Over on the Cardinal’s side, they took care of business in a road matchup versus Hawaii in their opener. Stanford held the Warriors to minus-5 yards rushing in a 37-24 victory. In game two the Cardinal ran into a tough customer in USC. Stanford was down 49-3 by halftime and limped to a loss 56-10 after allowing 573 yards (393 passing) along the way. 

Last weekend Stanford played Sacramento State. The Cardinal gave up points in every quarter (while also scoring in every quarter themselves) in a 30-23 loss. Justin Lamson completed just seven passes for 138 yards and a score. EJ Smith led the rush on 71 yards and Elic Ayomanor had 89 yards with a TD on four catches. 

Stanford Cardinal Team Facts

Stanford has lost 15 of its last 16 games against conference opponents.
Stanford has failed to cover the spread in 15 of its last 16 games against conference opponents.
Stanford has lost the first half in 14 of its last 16 games against conference opponents.
Each of Stanford’s last seven games as a home underdog have gone OVER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Stanford was one of only 27 FBS teams to lose 2+ games when leading after Q3 last season.
Stanford ranked T40th among FBS teams for Q4 win percentage last season (.500).
Arizona ranked T19th among FBS teams for Q4 win percentage last season (.583).
Arizona ranked 20th among FBS teams for Q1 points per game last season (8.3).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stick with Stanford in this one, but you could certainly make a case either way. Thus, I’m probably not touching it. The Cardinal played pretty well versus Hawaii in their opener, and realistically had no chance versus USC in game two. Back on Saturday Stanford was okay but not great on offense, and didn’t play super well on the other side. The Cardinal gave up 448 total yards (279 passing), 23 first downs and 11-of-16 on third-down tries. Stanford needs to tighten things up in a lot of facets before Saturday, because this game’s not going to be easy. I still think the Cardinal can cover if they play well but I’m not going near it.