Friday, Aug. 30
10:30 p.m. Eastern, 7:30 p.m. Pacific
ESPN
The 2024 college football season doesn’t have a ton of great games on Thursday and Friday. The big ones are on Saturday and Sunday. Of the games on Friday, there is no bigger or more interesting clash than the late game on The Farm in Palo Alto, where Stanford brings its young roster up against TCU and former Cal coach Sonny Dykes, who returns to the Bay Area.
TCU is coming off a rough season in 2023. The Horned Frogs went from being the national runner-up in 2022 to missing a bowl game entirely in 2023. If everything went just right and fell exactly into place two seasons ago, nothing went right last year. Dykes and his staff have to be able to pick up the pieces and establish a higher standard than what we saw a season ago.
Stanford enters its second season under coach Troy Taylor, who came over from Sacramento State after the 2022 season and took his licks in 2023. However, Stanford has moved from the Pac-12 to the ACC. In previous seasons, that would have been a bad thing. The ACC used to have considerable depth, with Florida State and Clemson both being national powerhouses and other contenders providing a conference which was five or six deep with quality teams. Now, the ACC doesn’t have a heavyweight atop the ranks, at least not with Florida State stumbling out of the gate against Georgia Tech. This doesn’t mean it will be easy for Stanford, but the 2023 Pac-12 was a really tough conference, with Oregon, Washington, Oregon State, Utah, and Arizona all being tough to deal with. If the Pac-12 had remained intact this year, Stanford would have faced very tough sledding. In the ACC, Stanford might have a chance to win one or two more games than it otherwise would have.
Hear our underdog analysis and predictions off the week one “3 Dog Thursday Podcast” by clicking play below,
TCU Horned Frogs vs Stanford Cardinal Odds
Spread: TCU -9.5 (-110), Stanford +9.5 (-110)
Total: 59.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Stanford +270
Players to Watch
The big point to keep in mind for this game is that one year ago, TCU completely imploded in its season opener against a Pac-12 team. TCU’s defense was lost and disorganized against Colorado, and the Buffs – as a massive underdog – not only covered the spread but won outright against the Horned Frogs. Could we see TCU stumble again, especially in a late-night game on the West Coast? Stranger things have happened.
The challenge for Stanford, which recruited really well in this 2024 cycle under Taylor, is that the Cardinal’s most promising players are young and inexperienced. Can Stanford’s roster immediately produce and show how formidable it is, or will this young group need a month or six weeks to really come together and show the potential it possesses?
Stanford might not be ready to win this game outright, even though that moneyline price is fat and tempting, but the Cardinal covering a spread of nearly 10 points seems very reasonable. TCU has to prove it can be sharp, cohesive, and prepared on both sides of the ball in a season opener, something which definitely wasn’t the case against Coach Prime and Colorado in 2023. The late start time also puts TCU players in a relatively unfamiliar position, something which could work to Stanford’s benefit. Don’t be surprised at all if this dog covers. Stay with 3Dog Thursday for more underdog-themed previews as the 2024 college football season continues