The UCLA Bruins are coming off a stunning upset at the hands of Fresno State. In prior years, the loss would spur a free fall for the Bruins. Instead, look for coach Chip Kelly to get his team to respond against a Stanford team that has overachieved in consecutive road covers.

Confirmation bias can be difficult to overcome. I thought Stanford would be bad in 2021, and after watching it lose to Kansas State to open the season, I was convinced I was right. But then a funny thing happened: Stanford crushed USC and it wasn't a fluke. Last week the Cardinal dominated an overpowered Vanderbilt team. Now I'm thinking Stanford might be a bowl team, and after seeing UCLA's pass defense struggle against Fresno last week, I think the Cardinal can keep this one close at home.

Bye weeks are often beneficial. Not so for UCLA, which burst out of the blocks with two wins, then lost momentum after an off-Saturday before falling to undervalued Fresno State. The veteran Bruins, who were outgained by Fresno in a three-point loss, should get well. The Cardinal rush defense is subpar, and their upset of Southern Cal requires an asterisk because then-Trojan coach Clay Helton was on the ropes.

The Bruins suffered a heart-breaker against Fresno State last weekend, and the hangover from that disaster won’t be cured this weekend. Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee has kickstarted an offense that has scored 83 points over the last two weeks and has provided nearly perfect balance for a team that prides itself on running the ball. Stanford will play bully-ball against a demoralized Bruins defense and pull off the upset at home.

UCLA came crashing back to earth a bit last week, while Stanford has won two straight. However, the Cardinal are absolutely gutted by injuries at running back and the secondary. Starting tight end Ben Yurosek (six catches, 82 yards) also is out. Not sure how much of a home-field advantage there will be as the Cardinal haven't played at Stanford Stadium since Nov. 14, 2020 due to the COVID pandemic/three straight on the road this year. I don't trust the Bruins giving 4.5 but do expect them to win so I'll take the moneyline under -200.