2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Predictions, Picks, Odds and Schedule

2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – Pac 12 Stanford Cardinal Football Preview: When the 2010-11 college football season wrapped up, there wasn’t a team in the nation that wanted a piece of the Stanford Cardinal. Capping an impressive campaign with a 40-12 destruction of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, Stanford has its eyes on a national title run this year. With superstar quarterback Andrew Luck opting to return to school, the title aspirations could become a reality.

With Luck back under center, the Cardinal have a weapon that very few teams can match. The Heisman hopeful is regarded by scouts as the top collegiate prospect and has been called the best college quarterback since John Elway. Luck can torch teams with his arm or with his legs, and coming off a year when he completed more than 70 percent of his passes, he should be taking home plenty of hardware in 2011-12.

As crucial as Luck’s return is to the success of Stanford, the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL figures to hurt the Cardinal in some capacity. After all, Harbaugh played a major role in reestablishing the school as a football powerhouse through savvy recruiting and an effective offensive scheme. Fortunately for Stanford, Luck can make up for the absence of Harbaugh this year and keep his team in title contention. Long term, the Cardinal will miss the former coach.

Luck and the rest of the offense will have to deal with a few losses on the field as well. Receivers Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen are both gone, leaving Luck without his top two targets from last season. In addition, do-it-all fullback Owen Marecic departed for the NFL. That being said, Stanford’s offensive line figures to be stout, led by tackle Jonathan Martin. As long as Luck is kept upright, he will move the chains and put up points.

On defense, the Cardinall will have to replace five starters from last year’s team. However, both starting safeties are back. With experience in the secondary, the front seven will get a chance to pin their ears back and go after the opposing quarterback. Stanford also figures to be playing with the lead more often than not, which should also add to the effectiveness of the defense.

Looking at the schedule, Stanford appears to have 10 wins more or less in the bag. The team’s title hopes are likely going to hinge on games against Oregon and Notre Dame in November. The Ducks knocked off the Cardinal one year ago to claim the PAC-10 crown, and on paper, Oregon appears to have a slight edge once again. However, the Ducks will be heading to Palo Alto this season, and home field advantage could be enough to turn the tide. If Stanford gets by Oregon, a potential trap game against Notre Dame in the regular season finale figures to be the only other hurdle.

Baring some unexpected injury to Luck, the showdown with Orgeon is going to likely decide whether or not Stanford plays for a national title. The PAC-10 title and a spot in the BCS championship will probably be up for grabs when these two West Coast powerhouses meet. Look for Luck to take home a bunch of individual honors this year, but the Cardinal will likely have to settle for an at-large BCS bid for the second year in a row when a more talented Oregon team bests them yet again.

2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Total Wins and Record Prediction: 11-1 Record

Preseason 2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: +1400
Odds to Win 2011 Pac 12 Champonship: +250
You can BET on these lines or any other College Football Odds and Lines daily at SBG Global Sportsbook(upto 235% in BONUSES!)

2011 Stanford Cardinal Football Schedule
Sat, Sept 3 vs San Jose State TBD
Sat, Sept 10 @ Duke 3:30 PM ET
Sat, Sept 17 @ Arizona 9:45 PM ET
Sat, Oct 1 vs UCLA TBD
Sat, Oct 8 vs Colorado TBD
Sat, Oct 15 @ Washington State TBD
Sat, Oct 22 vs Washington 8:00 PM ET
Sat, Oct 29 @ USC 8:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 5 @ Oregon State TBD
Sat, Nov 12 vs Oregon TBD
Sat, Nov 19 vs California TBD
Sat, Nov 26 vs Notre Dame 8:00 PM ET

Need Expert Winning College Football Picks? Be sure to check out NSAwins.com’s award-winning College Football Season Picks Packages for expert winners against the vegas spreads and totals in College Football this season including 2011 Big Ten Football Picks and Predictions to beat the vegas point spreads and totals!