Stanford Cardinal vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/18/2021

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 18, 2021

Venue:  Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Cardinal -11, Commodores +11; Over/Under:  48.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Cardinal -12, Commodores +12; Over/Under:  49 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Cardinal -12, Commodores +12; Over/Under:  49 points

 

Stanford Cardinal:  1-1 (1st place, Pac-12 North)

Vanderbilt Commodores:  1-1 (6th place, SEC East)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Ben Burns is on a 10-2 L12 (10*) NCAAF. Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

Stanford Cardinal:  Won on the road on Sep. 11 against the USC Trojans 42-28.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  Won on the road on Sep. 11 against the Colorado State Rams 24-21.

 

 

 

Last season the Stanford Cardinal averaged a 65.3% completion percentage, 287.3 passing yards, and 1.2 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 133.2 rushing yards and 2.5 touchdowns per game on the ground. The Vanderbilt Commodores were averaging a 63.8% completion percentage, 219.9 passing yards, and 1.4 touchdowns per game through the air. They also averaged 110.1 rushing yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

 

Last season the Stanford Cardinal were allowing teams a 64.1% completion percentage, 216.7 passing yards, and 2 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 222 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns per game on the ground. The Vanderbilt Commodores were allowing teams a 73.4% completion percentage, 296.4 passing yards, and 2.7 touchdowns per game through the air. They also allowed 191.4 rushing yards and 2.1 touchdowns per game on the ground.

 

Stanford is coming into this game with a 1-1 record overall and a 1-0 record in their conference games, this game being a non-conference one. They lost their first matchup of the college football season against Kansas State and then followed that up with a huge win on the road against the USC Trojans. Tanner McKee had a great game in that one as he completed 16/23 passes for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns. Nathaniel Peat had a great day in the running game with 115 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 6 carries as he led the team in rushing in that game. Elijah Higgins led the receiving corps with 67 receiving yards and 1 TD on 5 receptions. Noah Williams led the defense with 7 solo tackles and 1 assisted one. Kyu Blu Kelly came away with the only interception for his team in that game. Stanford has scored 49 points in their first 2 games and have allowed their opponents to score 52 points against them. Their offense is averaging 304 YPG while the Stanford defense is allowing 376 YPG.

Vanderbilt is coming into this game with a 1-1 record overall and is playing their 3rd non-conference game in a row now on their football schedule. They lost their first college football game of the regular season to the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at home but then followed that up with a road win against the Colorado State Rams. Ken Seals played well in that game as he completed 27/42 passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns. Re'Mahn Davis led the team in rushing with 77 yards on 17 carries but other than him, they did not have much of a run game. Chris Pearce led the receivers with 76 yds and 1 TD on 4 receptions while Cam Johnson was not far behind him catching 9 passes for 66 yards and 1 TD. Anfernee Orji led the defense with 6 solo tackles and 7 assisted ones. Jaylen Mahoney came away with the only interception in that game for them. Vandy has scored 27 points in their first 2 games and have allowed their opponents to score 44 points against them. The Commodores’ offense is averaging 331.5 YPG while their defense is allowing 379.5 YPG.

Both of these teams looked like garbage in their first games and then both came out of nowhere with upset wins in their 2nd games. The offense looked much better for both sides in their last game and with both having not the greatest defenses, there could be a lot of points scored in this game. The total is fairly low so a bet on the over in this game is the way to go here.

 

Cardinal Commodores Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 18, 2021 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Cardinal 41 Commodores 21.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Stanford Cardinal Vanderbilt Commodores prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Stanford Cardinal: 7-13 ATS in all games. 4-7 ATS in road games.

Vanderbilt Commodores: 1-7 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 1-4 ATS in non-conference games.

 

 

Stanford Cardinal:  M. Wilson (WR) Ques Sat - Foot injury. S. Turner-Muhammad (CB)Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury. J. McGill (S) Out indefinitely - Foot injury.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  B. Bresnahan (TE) Doub Sat - Lower Body injury. D. Jerkins (S) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Stanford Cardinal: Austin Jones is one player to watch in this game. He has been quiet so far this season but he will be looking to have that breakout game very soon. Look for him to make some big runs against this bad Vanderbilt defense.

 

Vanderbilt Commodores: Chris Pierce Jr. is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in receiving and in touchdowns and he will be the one their offense runs through if they are to pull off a win in this game. Look for him to make some big catches down field to give his team a chance here.

 

“Most of them still recruit regionally, but I think our academic prestige allows us to recruit coast to coast. So that leaves us up to a better pool of talent — or not a better pool necessarily, just a broader pool. We have guys on our team from Florida and Georgia and DC and the Midwest and the Northwest and the Southeast and the Southwest. I think that has helped a ton. But the fact that our academic prestige is world-renowned helps a lot.” - David Shaw on how being one of the best schools for academics in the FBS has helped them with recruiting players and diverse talent.

 

 

“That’s a formula that doesn’t exist anywhere else. And so we don’t want to be a copycat to anyone. We want to find our success. And we feel like as we find our success, which will take time, you know, that there is no limit on what can be accomplished here.” - Clark Lea when comparing the Stanford program to his own Vanderbilt program.

 

 

 

WR Higgins, Elijah 

WR Tremayne, Brycen 

TE Fisk, Tucker 

TE Yurosek, Benjamin 

QB McKee, Tanner 

RB Jones, Austin 

FB Heimuli, Houston 

 

WR Sheppard, Will 

WR Pierce Jr., Chris 

WR Johnson, Cam 

TE Schoenwald, Gavin 

QB Seals, Ken 

RB Davis, Re'Mahn 

 

 

Passing: T. McKee (352)

Rushing: N. Peat (118)

Receiving: B. Tremayne (111)

Touchdowns: B. Tremayne (2)

Sacks: S. Herron (1)

Tackles: R. Miezan (11)

 

Passing: K. Seals (433)

Rushing: R. Davis (135)

Receiving: C. Pierce Jr. (129)

Touchdowns: C. Pierce Jr. (1)

Sacks: N/A

Tackles: A. Orji (11)

 

Coaches:

Stanford Cardinal: David Shaw (11th season)

Vanderbilt Commodores: Clark Lea (1st season)

 

76 degrees F scattered thunderstorms, 83% humidity, 20% chance of rain, up to 4 mph wind speeds W.