Stanford (0-0) vs TCU (0-0)
Game Info: Friday, August 30, 2024 at 10:30 pm (Stanford Stadium)
The Line: Betting Odds: Stanford +9.5 / TCU -9.5 — Over/Under: 61.5
The TCU Horned Frogs and the Stanford Cardinal meet Friday in college football action from Stanford Stadium. Here’s a TCU vs Stanford prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best TCU vs Stanford pick. We will examine:
The TCU Horned Frogs recent form and player performance
The Stanford Cardinal recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the TCU Horned Frogs
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Stanford Cardinal
Recent betting trends in games played between TCU and Stanford
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the TCU vs Stanford game
TCU Horned Frogs Betting Preview
The Horned Frogs didn’t make a whole lot of noise last season. TCU finished 5-7 overall and 3-6 in a tough Big 12. That would put the Frogs just four spots out of the basement in the conference standings, ahead of only Houston, BYU, Baylor and Cincinnati.
TCU will have head coach Sonny Dykes back for his third season in 2024. There’s a new face at defensive coordinator in Andy Avalos, though. Avalos takes over a defense that ranked pretty low in the conference with 408.3 yards allowed per game. The offense fared quite a bit better in 2023 with 466.7 yards per game.
Stanford Cardinal Betting Preview
Over on the Cardinal’s side, they’re coming off a pretty rough campaign. Stanford posted a 3-9 overall record and a 2-7 mark in the Pac-12. Among the conference standings that amounted to a finish just two spots out of the basement. The Cardinal was ahead of only Arizona State and Colorado.
Second-year head coach Troy Taylor enters 2024 with a little more experience, and he’ll need it in order to make some headway in a highly-talented Pac-12. Stanford posted just 351.9 yards per game on offense last year and gave up a conference-high 461.7 yards per game on the other side.
Why the Stanford Cardinal will win
- TCU has lost four of its last five games.
- The home team has covered the spread in eight of TCU’s last nine games.
- TCU has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five season openers as a favorite.
Why the TCU Horned Frogs will win
- Stanford has lost each of its last nine home games.
- TCU has won each of its last nine road openers as a favorite.
- TCU has covered the spread in each of its last seven road openers as a favorite.
- Stanford has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games against non-conference opponents at Stanford Stadium.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Stanford’s last four games against non-AP-ranked teams at Stanford Stadium have gone UNDER the total points line.
- Six of TCU’s last seven games as a favorite have gone UNDER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- Stanford was the only FBS team to remain winless in home games last season (0-7) (min. 8 games).
- Stanford suffered the equal-most losses by a margin of 25+ points of any FBS team last season (5).
- TCU ranked T22nd among FBS teams for H2 win percentage last season (.667).
- TCU ranked T26th among FBS teams for Q3 points per game last season (8.0).
TCU vs Stanford Prediction
I’ll probably stay with TCU. This should be a pretty interesting matchup, though. The Frogs’ main mission this year is to get back to a bowl game, and they’ve got the talent to do it. There could be some growing pains initially however, especially on defense. Under Avalos, TCU is switching from a 3-3-5 to a 4-2-5 setup. The good news is that the Frogs’ line looks like they’ll be able to handle it. Caleb Fox and Paul Oyewale should buoy that group.
All of that said, TCU has some work to do in getting all the new faces on offense to gel together. WRs Savion Williams and JP Richardson should prove as reliable targets but the running game needs to make some big strides. It’ll be an interesting season for the Frogs, and it starts with a winnable—and likely very entertaining—road matchup.