Stanford Cardinal NCAA Football Odds
One of the most prestigious schools in the United States, Stanford has also managed to turn itself into a notable football program. The Cardinal have won the Pac-12 three times since 2012 and could rise to the top of the conference once again.
As a bettor in California, you may soon have a lot of NCAA football teams to choose from. If you plan to bet on Stanford football, read on for the latest odds and different ways to bet on the team, plus a brief history of the program.
This week’s Stanford football odds
Below, find the latest Stanford football odds for the upcoming game. See odds you like? Click on them to go right to that sportsbook where you can sign up for an account and claim the sports betting bonus available to new customers.
Standford College Football National Championship odds
Below, see the latest Stanford football futures odds at legal CA online sportsbooks. Click on any odds to jump to the corresponding sportsbook and get started.
How to bet on Stanford football odds
Your first time betting on sports can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many opportunities for so many games across so many sports, and it all happens daily and throughout the day and overnight and… listen, we get it.
That’s why we put together a short guide on some of the most popular bet types for college football. You can find out more about each by following our links to dedicated explanatory pages.
What is the Stanford football moneyline?
The moneyline is the simplest form of sports betting. It’s quite easy to understand as well. You get two teams and you pick which one will win. If you’re right, you win. If not, you lose. Simple.
When it comes to Stanford football and NCAA football bets, you will find sportsbooks in California have plenty to offer. Take FanDuel Sportsbook, as an example. This former daily fantasy sports leader made the transition to a sportsbook and has become one of the most notable in the industry.
Its offerings for college football moneylines are wide, with very competitive odds both in-state and relative to Las Vegas odds.
An example of a FanDuel moneyline bet might look like this:
- Stanford Cardinal -115
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish +135
With just a quick glance, you can see which team is the favorite and which is the underdog. Favorites carry negative odds while underdogs have positive odds. In this case, Stanford is favored to win over Notre Dame at -115 odds.
Negative odds also tell us how much we have to bet in order to win $100. For a winning $115 bet on the Cardinal, $215 will be paid out. That’s the original stake returned to the bettor and $100 in profit.
Positive betting odds tell us how much we stand to win with every $100 we bet. So for Notre Dame, a $200 bet would pay out $470, which is the original stake plus the $270 in profits.
What is the Stanford football point spread?
The most popular bet type among experienced bettors is the point spread, especially in the world of NCAA football. Point spread bets add a little more value to games, especially those expected to be lopsided affairs with massively differing odds on the moneyline bet.
Oddsmakers assign the favorite a certain number of points as a winning margin. If that team wins by that margin or more, then bets on that team also triumph. Any other outcome and the bets on the underdog will pay out.
DraftKings Sportsbook has climbed to the top of the sportsbook industry and is making quite the name for itself. It doesn’t shy away from a nice variety of betting opportunities, and the point spread is one of them. DK offers solid customer service on top of its wide selection of point spread bets for college football and the Stanford Cardinal.
A possible point spread from DraftKings Sportsbook app might look like this:
- Stanford Cardinal -8.5 (-110)
- San Jose State Spartans +8.5 (-110)
Again, you can spot the favorite by its negative number, though this time it is the point spread and not just the odds. As seen above, the odds for a point spread bet are sometimes even. That’s because the game isn’t going to be as lopsided as it would be without the point differential.
Stanford has to win this game by nine points or more in order for bets on them to pay out. If they win by fewer points or lose outright, then if you bet on Spartans football, you would be successful.
Stanford Cardinal totals bets
A totals bet, often known as the over/under, doesn’t require you to choose which team is going to win. Instead, sportsbooks set a point total, and the two teams combine their final scores to either exceed it or fall short.
If you take a look at BetMGM, you’ll find a nice selection of totals bets for college football. This sportsbook has very competitive odds and offers appealing promotions and bonuses for both new and existing players.
An example of a possible totals bet you might find at BetMGM Sportsbook in California could look like this:
- Over 44.5 (-110)
- Under 44.5 (-115)
We can see that the oddsmakers have decided the two teams playing will combine to score 44.5 points. That half-point, which is impossible to score in football, ensures there are winning bets and losing bets.
If the teams play to a final of 24-21, then the total would come to 45 points and any bet on the over would pay out. If you look at the odds in our example, you’ll see the under has -115 while the over has -110. That means the oddsmakers expect there to be a slightly better chance of the two teams coming in under the anticipated total.
In either case, the betting odds are both negative, which means we can see how much we have to bet in order to win $100.
Stanford Cardinal coaching staff
Stanford has seen football on campus since 1891 (though it did drop the sport in favor of rugby from 1906 to 1917). It’s no surprise, then, that Stanford is one of the most recognizable names in the history of college football.
Let’s take a look at the current coaching staff for the Cardinal.
- Head coach: David Shaw
- Defensive coordinator: Lance Anderson
- Offensive coordinator: Tavita Pritchard
- Special teams coordinator: Pete Alamar
We’ve also compiled a list of all of the former head coaches at Stanford:
- Walter Camp (1892, 1894-1895)
- D. “Pop” Bliss (1893)
- Harry P. Cross (1896, 1898)
- George H. Brooke (1897)
- Burr Chamberlain (1899)
- Fielding H. Yost (1900)
- Charles Fickert (1901)
- L. Clemans (1902)
- James F. Lanagan (1903-1905)
- Bob Evans (1919)
- Walter D. Powell (1920)
- Eugene Van Gent (1921)
- Andrew Kerr (1922-1923)
- Pop Warner (1924-1932)
- Claude E. Thornhill (1933-1939)
- Clark Shaughnessy (1940-1941)
- Marchmont Schwartz (1942, 1946-1950)
- Chuck Taylor (1951-1957)
- Jack Curtice (1958-1962)
- John Ralston (1963-1971)
- Jack Christiansen (1972-1976)
- Bill Walsh (1977-1978, 1992-1994)
- Rod Dowhower (1979)
- Paul Wiggin (1980-1983)
- Jack Elway (1984-1988)
- Dennis Green (1989-1991)
- Tyrone Willingham (1995-2001)
- Buddy Teevens (2002-2004)
- Walt Harris (2005-2006)
- Jim Harbaugh (2007-2010)
- David Shaw (2011-current)
Where does Stanford play home games?
The Cardinal play home games in the aptly named Stanford Stadium. Built in 2005, the current home field for the team stands where the original stadium once was.
Here are some details about the Cardinal’s home stadium:
Stanford Stadium
- Address: 625 Nelson Road, Stanford, California
- Owner: Stanford University
- Operator: Stanford University
- Capacity: 50,424
- Opened: Oct. 1, 1921 (original) and Sept. 16, 2006 (current)
- Construction costs: $200,000 (1921) and $90 million (2006)
- Other events: San Jose Earthquakes MLS (2011-current)
How to watch and list to Stanford football games
Looking to catch some Cardinal games this year? You’re in luck because there are quite a few different options. You can see them all below.
Radio:
- KNBR 1050 AM (San Francisco)
Streaming:
- Tune-In App (KNBR and KZSU)
- Sirius XM
- NeuLion All Access
To watch:
- CBS Sports
- Fox Sports 1
- Fox Sports 2
- Pac-12 Network
- ESPN
- FuboTV
- DirecTV Stream
- AT&T TV
- Hulu Live TV
- YouTube TV
- Sling TV
Brief Stanford football history
Take a look at some highlights from Cardinal football lore. It’ll probably help make you pretty good at Stanford football trivia.
- 2015: Christian McCaffrey is named the AP College Football Player of the Year.
- 2012: David Shaw coaches the Cardinal to their first conference title in 13 years as his team wins the Pac-12, which they would repeat in 2013 and 2015.
- 2009: Toby Gerhart wins the Doak Walker Award, which Bryce Love would also win in 2017.
- 1992: Stanford, under the coaching of Bill Walsh, wins the Pacific-10 Conference championship, which they would do again in 1999.
- 1977: In their first bowl game that wasn’t the Rose Bowl, the Stanford Cardinal defeated LSU in the Sun Bowl 24-14 under the coaching of Bill Walsh during his first stint as head coach.
- 1970: The Cardinal win the Pacific-8 Conference title, which they would then repeat in 1971. Also of note, QB Jim Plunkett wins the Heisman Trophy.
- 1951: After an 11-season hiatus, the Cardinal earn the Pacific Coast Conference championship under the coaching of Chuck Taylor.
- 1940: Stanford is awarded its second National Championship with a 10-0 season and a 21-13 victory in the Rose Bowl.
- 1933: The Cardinal win their first of three conference titles in the 1930s with the others coming in 1934 and 1935.
- 1932: Claude E. Thornhill becomes head coach of the Cardinal and becomes the first coach in Stanford history to make the postseason in his first three seasons — a feat not matched again until coach David Shaw in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
- 1927: Stanford wins its first bowl game in school history, topping Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl 7-6. The team also unveils its “bootlegger play”—a staple in many modern playbooks. (Find latest Rose Bowl odds here)
- 1926: The Cardinal are awarded their first-ever National Championship with a 10-0-1 record and a tie in the Rose Bowl.
- 1925: USC and Stanford play for the first time to begin their rivalry.
- 1924: Stanford wins its first conference title before two more in 1926 and 1927. Also, Pop Warner becomes the head coach at Stanford and stays for nine seasons.
- 1919: Stanford joins the Pacific Coast Conference, which would later become the Athletic Association of Western Universities, then the Pacific-8 Conference, then the Pacific-10 Conference before finally becoming the Pac-12 in 2011.
- 1901: The Cardinal play in their first-ever bowl game, losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl 49-0.
- 1892: Legendary football pioneer Walter Camp coaches the Cardinal in 1892 and again in 1894 and 1895.
- 1891: Stanford fields its first football team, though it had no head coach and played just a few games.
Stanford Cardinal football FAQ
SeatGeek notes that the average price for a Stanford football ticket in 2021 was $180, which was up significantly from the $66 average in 2019.
The Cardinal can claim two national banners. The first was awarded in 1926 and the second in 1940.
David Shaw, the team head coach since 2011, is the winningest coach in the history of Stanford football with a 92-38 record. The next closest is Pop Warner, who led his team to a 71-17-8 record during his tenure.
The coach with the highest winning percentage with more than three seasons as head coach is also Warner, who achieved a .781 percentage over his years at the helm. He was head coach from 1924 to 1932.
As of early 2022, the Cardinal have participated in 30 bowl games and have compiled a record of 15-14-1.
The first-ever bowl game was in 1901 when Stanford, led by Charles Fickert, lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl 49-0. The most recent bowl appearance was in 2018 when David Shaw coached his team to a 14-13 victory over Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl.
Stanford has had 31 players named as consensus All-Americans. The first was Jim Lawson, an end who was named to the All-America team in 1924. Bill Corbus, a linebacker, who earned the honors in 1932 and 1933, was the first to repeat the feat.
The most recent, as of spring 2022, was Bryce Love, a running back who was given the honors in 2017.
A staggering 289 players from Stanford have heard their names called for the NFL Draft over the decades.
The first was end Keith Topping in 1936. He was drafted in the second round as the 11th-overall pick by the Boston Redskins. Along with Topping, six other Stanford players were selected that season.
The most recent, as of the 2022 NFL Draft, was Thomas Booker, a defensive end who was selected by the Houston Texans as the 150th overall pick in the fifth round.
In the history of the NFL Draft, there have been four Cardinal players selected first overall. The first was quarterback Bobby Garrett in 1954 to the Cleveland Browns. Next was Jim Plunkett in 1971, as the Heisman-winning quarterback was chosen by the New England Patriots.
In 1983, quarterback John Elway was drafted No. 1 by the Baltimore Colts, and, in 2012, the Indianapolis Colts selected QB Andrew Luck with the first-overall pick.