No. 24 UCLA vs. Stanford picks and best bets for Week 4

The UCLA Bruins will look to regroup after a surprising loss the week before as they head on the road to take on the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, September 25th, though UCLA will enter as the favorite.

Following a big-time over the LSU Tigers, UCLA (2-1, 0-0 Pac-12) had an early bye week to get ready for the Fresno State Bulldogs at home last weekend but 40-37 on a late touchdown in the final seconds of the game. The clear advantage on Saturday night will be the UCLA offense, which finally seems to be coming together under Chip Kelly and ranks No. 17 in yards per play.

One week after putting an end to the Clay Helton era in a win over the USC Trojans, Stanford (2-1, 1-0 Pac-12) went on the road and beat the Vanderbilt Commodores 41-23 on the road. The Cardinal do not have a single Group of 5 or FCS team on their schedule this season, and their biggest strength is against the pass where they come in at No. 16 in opponent yards per pass attempt.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

UCLA: 20 overall, 7 offense, 64 defense
Stanford: 70 overall, 50 offense, 86 defense

Injury update

UCLA

LB Mitchell Agude - Questionable (leg)
OL Sam Marrazzo - Questionable (leg)

Stanford

S Noah Williams - Out (undisclosed)
TE Tucker Fisk - Probable (undisclosed)
CB Ethan Bonner - Questionable (undisclosed)
RB Casey Filkins - Out (undisclosed)
CB Zahran Manley - Questionable (undisclosed)
RB E.J. Smith - Out (undisclosed)
RB Austin Jones - Out (undisclosed)
WR Michael Wilson - Questionable (foot)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

UCLA: 2-1 ATS
Stanford: 2-1 ATS

Total

UCLA: Over 2-1
Stanford: Over 2-1

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

UCLA: 21 overall, 21 offense, 27 defense
Stanford: 26 overall, 24 offense, 28 defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: UCLA -5
Total: 58.5
Moneyline: UCLA -190, Stanford +160

Opening line: UCLA -4
Opening total: 58.5

Weather

76 degrees, 10 MPH wind, 8% chance of rain

The Pick

UCLA -5

As long as this spread stays under a touchdown, UCLA is the pick on Saturday night. The Bruins run the ball on 62.8% of their offensive snaps this season, and they’re going up against a defense that ranks No. 115 out of 130 FBS teams in yards per rush attempt allowed. The combination of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson with running backs Zach Charbonnet and Brittain Brown should have plenty of success in the ground game.

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