The Pac-12 championship game is to take place today, December 4, between No. 7 Stanford and No. 24 USC. There's still a chance that the Cardinal could crash the College Football Playoffs, and it has that hope at stake in this game. Below you can find the info for the live stream, TV schedule, betting line, a preview and prediction for the game.
TV Schedule: 7:45 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN
Where: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Betting Line: -4 or 4.5 STAN; 58-59 O/U (subject to change before kickoff)
Let's start with the Trojans in this one. They've had a tumultuous season -- couple of seasons, really -- especially considering the whole Steve Sarkisian situation. Their former coach put them in a tough spot and was clearly someone the players couldn't respect.
The last time these two teams played, he was still their coach, and the result was a Cardinal victory. They'll try to defend their new coach, Clay Helton, and get their football program back on the map here. They've been nowhere near the college football playoffs in the two years of its existence, and that's a problem considering their recent history. USC wants to find the success it had back when Pete Carroll was the coach, and beating Stanford in this title game would be a major step toward regaining respectability.
As for Stanford, it's playing for even higher stakes. After all, there's still a solid chance that Stanford can make the College Football Playoffs.
The Cardinal is 10-2 and coming off a massive win over Notre Dame; and the winner of the Cardinal-Irish game was going to have a shot at making it into the four-team playoffs.
First of all, it needs to beat USC, obviously. If Stanford loses this game, it's over. But if the Cardinal win, it's still not 100 percent clear.
Oklahoma currently holds the No. 3 spot. The issue of subjectivity will be at an all-time high in this scenario, as the Big 12 doesn't have a championship game still. OU doesn't have to play another game, so if Stanford wins their championship game, despite having one more loss, will it leapfrog the Sooners simply because they didn't have a title game to play? Many believe that will be the case, but then it creates another controversy within college football's decisions.
Either way, both teams have a lot to play for, but Stanford is going to ride their big win over ND to another Pac-12 win.
Prediction: Stanford 33, USC 27
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