With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Sept. 1.
Stanford Cardinal
National title odds: 30-1
Season win total: 9.0
Phil Steele
Strengths: Last year's offensive line was very talented, but it was inexperienced. They have four returning starters and are one of the top O-lines in the country. They have good talent at the skill positions, and QB Kevin Hogan is 2-1 as a starter versus Oregon. The LB corps is my No. 7-rated unit.
Weaknesses: They have just three starters back on the defense, but after chatting this summer with coach David Shaw, I think this will be your typical tough Stanford D. After having the No. 1 special-teams unit in 2013, the Cardinal fell to 67th last year and all of the top special-team players departed.
Over/under: Stanford has exactly one road game against a team that had a winning record last year, which means the toughest games (Notre Dame, Oregon, UCLA) are all at home. I have Stanford favored in 11 games this year, so I like the over.
National title: Stanford is my No. 1 surprise team in the country, so despite the fact it is No. 21 in the preseason AP Top 25, I consider it a legitimate national title contender, and you get great value with the 30-1 odds.
'Stanford Steve' Coughlin
I think this team is in a very tough spot, just like last year's squad. Trying to duplicate what the Stanford teams did from 2010-13 (playing in four BCS games) is simply unfair to ask, but I do think it's fair to say a lot of the highly recruited guys that Stanford got during those years haven't lived up to the hype. Look, I was one of those guys when I played there and I know what it's like.
I like the highly touted recruits they have on defense. such as linebacker Noor Davis, defensive tackle Aziz Shittu and defensive end Luke Kaumatule -- these guys played behind some of the best defensive players Stanford has ever had, but they very rarely saw the field to give those guys a rest. Now, some were hurt, but idea that these guys will be looked to start is kind of scary. The reason Stanford has been able to stay so dominant on the defensive side is because they came into the past three seasons with seven, eight and seven returning starters, respectively; this season, that number has dipped to four.
On offense, I would expect running back Christian McCaffrey to be the go-to guy, as he will get the ball in as many ways possible David Shaw wants to draw up; he's that good. However, the wide receiving corps has so much experience with guys such as Devon Cajuste and Michael Rector, they just haven't been as consistent as they should be. They've shown flashes, but for Hogan to have as good as a year as he can, those two guys need to step up, and I'm not sure they have the mentality to do so.
The one thing I will add is that Tight End University adds another star this year: Remember the name Dalton Schultz. I've heard plenty of people say this year that they think Stanford could win the Pac-12, I just don't see it. As for the chances the Cardinal has to make the College Football Playoff, I don't see them beating a team from the Pac-12 South in the title game.
O/U: Nine games is too much to ask for this time. Go under.
Chris Fallica
Is an 8-5 season in 2014 the new norm for Stanford or an aberration? After all, the Cardinal had four straight 11-win seasons from 2010-13. Can an RB emerge? If so, the Cardinal can get back to their highly successful formula of running along with utilizing the tight end, and Austin Hooper is a good one. Stanford played its best three games of the season to conclude 2014, and the Cardinal will need to be at their best in September with a road trip to USC early on the slate. In its five losses last year, Stanford never scored more than 17 points, averaged 13.4 PPG. Hogan and the O-line struggled, as he was sacked 14 times in those games.
O/U: To me, 9-3 seems like a worst-case scenario, so with that in mind, I'd take a shot at over 9. There's a good chance the Cardinal would have to lose twice at home to lose three games this year. While they could lose somewhere unexpectedly, the only road game in which the Cardinal will be an underdog is USC.
Title odds: Odds of 30-1 are the shortest future I would take on any team, but I'm not sure I would take a shot with Stanford. Yes there is experience at QB and the O-line, but there are a lot of losses on defense. I think the winning culture at Stanford will continue, and it would not surprise me at all to see the Cardinal in the Pac-12 title game, but I still have them second in the North behind Oregon.