TCU vs Stanford College Football Prediction & Picks 8/30/2024

The TCU Horned Frogs will take on the Stanford Cardinal on August 30, 2024, at 10:30 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook has listed the Horned Frogs as 9 point favorites. Currently, 48% of spread bets are in favor of TCU, while 52% are backing Stanford. The total of 61.5 has seen 79% of bets on the under and 21% on the over. This matchup promises to be an exciting one to watch as both teams look to kick off the season with a strong showing against a power conference opponent.

Can TCU Get Off to a Better Start In 2024?

Last season, the TCU Horned Frogs opened their season as massive home favorites against the Colorado Buffaloes in Deion Sanders' debut as Colorado head coach. They lost that game outright to Colorado in what was the start of an underwhelming campaign for the Horned Frogs. This year, the Frogs are once again favored to start their season as they will look to avoid another loss to open their year in 2024.

It will be Josh Hoover leading the offense for the Horned Frogs again this season after he played for most of the second half of the 2023 campaign at quarterback. Hoover showed flashes of brilliance last season but also struggled to make the plays his team needed on a consistent basis. In a road game to open the season here, that lack of consistency could be costly for TCU if he starts making mistakes and lets the crowd get more and more into this one.

Stanford Leaning On Continuity Entering 2024 Season

Going into the 2024 college football season, the Stanford offense is going to look a lot like it did a season ago. All five starters on the offensive line are back, along with starting quarterback Ashton Daniels, and wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. Ayomanor was great last year as a weapon on the outside, with his game in Stanford's comeback win over Colorado standing tall as one of the best individual performances of the year in college football. That offensive continuity will be huge for the Cardinal as they look to get their season off to a good start here at home.

Of course, on-field continuity is even more important than usual for Stanford, as there is no continuity for them off the field. The Cardinal left the now-defunct Pac-12 after last season and are now members of the ACC. We already saw SMU struggle as a new member of the ACC in Week 0 and Stanford will be looking to avoid a similar fate in this matchup.

TCU vs Stanford Best Bet

Both of these teams are far from perfect going into the 2024 season, but we like what Stanford has going for it on the offensive side of the ball. Look for the rapport that they have built offensively to pay dividends in this contest and for the Cardinal to cover the spread as a home underdog in what could be one of the more memorable games on the Week 1 schedule.

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