The No. 7 Miami Hurricanes (0-0) and Stanford Cardinal (1-0) square off Friday night at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let's analyze college football odds around the Miami vs. Stanford odds and make our expert college football picks and predictions for the best bets.
If the pundits are correct, this is expected to be a matchup of the best and worst teams in the ACC this season. Stanford is predicted to finish last in the league, while Miami is the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC title, which, despite a run to the national championship game last season, they have never done in program history.
Stanford already has a home game under its belt, fending off the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 37-27
Saturday in Tavita Pritchard's debut as the Cardinal head coach. Stanford held a 23-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, but Hawaii rallied with 20 unanswered points to jump ahead. The Cardinal re-took the lead when RB Micah Ford scored his third TD of the game with 1:41 left to play, and the Stanford sealed the victory with a fumble return for TD for the final score. QB Davis Warren, a transfer from Michigan who missed last season with a knee injury, went 22 for 34 for 310 yards and a TD.
Miami will have a new QB running the show this season, with Darian Mensah replacing Carson Beck. Mensah arrives from Duke where he threw for 3,973 yards, 34 TDs with 6 INTs and led the Blue Devils to the ACC championship last season. But Mensah won't have to shoulder the load at Miami, with the backfield returning RB Mark Fletcher (216 carries, 1,192 yards, 12 TDs) and RB CharMar Brown (122 carries, 474 yards, 7 TDs) and a receiving corps that features one of the most exciting players in the nation in WR Malachi Toney, who caught 109 passes for 1,211 yards and 10 TDs. Though the Hurricanes defense lost 4 players to the NFL, including 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Reuben Bain Jr., it's again expected to be one of the top units in the nation after allowing 14.8 points per game a season ago.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports
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Miami at Stanford odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 10:53 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Miami -3000 (bet $3000 to win $100) | Stanford +1550 (bet $100 to win $1550)
- Against the spread (ATS): Miami -24 (-110) | Stanford +24 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 47.5 (O: -112 | U: -105)
Miami at Stanford picks and predictions
Prediction
Miami 31, Stanford 10
Moneyline
PASS.
I don't expect Stanford to win, which would net a big pay day, nor am I planning to bet $3000 on Miami in order to net $100.
Against the spread
BET STANFORD +24 (-108).
Now here's where it gets interesting. There's no doubt Miami is the better team, but there's two things working in Stanford's favor that could potentially make this one closer than expectations.
For starters, the Cardinal have a game under their belt. It wasn't pretty, but they were able to work on some things in live game action that Miami hasn't experienced yet.
Secondly, the game is at home. Miami is making a rare trek cross country. Last season, the furthest west the Hurricanes traveled during the regular season was Dallas, Texas, where they were upset by SMU 26-20. In 2024, they faced Cal at Berkeley and had to make a furious fourth quarter rally to win 39-38.
Get the hook if you can to avoid a push.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 47.5 (-108).
Stanford's defense played well until the fourth quarter last week, when Hawaii staged a furious comeback. That's where I think Stanford can keep things close for a spell before Miami finds its footing on offense. Defensively, I expect the Hurricanes to keep the Cardinal offense in check, just as they did last year.
Best prop bet
BET DARIAN MENSAH OVER 250 YARDS PASSING (+115)
Mensah enters the season as the preseason ACC Player of the Year pick and he'll have shot to get things off to a good start against a Stanford defense that gave up 269 yards passing to Hawaii QB Micah Alejado. While the Hurricanes were already stacked offensively, aside from Mensah, they also added one of his favorite targets, WR Cooper Barkate, who also made the jump from Duke to Miami in the portal. Barkate caught 72 passes for 1,106 yards and 7 TDs last season for the Blue Devils.
Betting odds calculator
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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: Miami Hurricanes at Stanford Cardinal odds, picks and predictions
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