Stanford @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 6, 2010 ) Arizona 17, Stanford 42

THE STORY: Although the Andrew Luck-Jim Harbaugh combo was broken up when Harbaugh left for the NFL, there has been no slowing down Luck as the Heisman Trophy favorite has thrown six touchdow passes in his first two games. Arizona has no such luck. The Wildcats lost to Oklahoma State 37-14 last week and bring a veritable MASH unit into the Pac-12 Conference opener for both teams. Arizona is without star receiver Juron Criner and running back Greg Nwoko, and quarterback Nick Foles is playing despite a knee injury.

TV: ESPN. LINE: Stanford -10

ABOUT ARIZONA (1-1): The Wildcats’ rushing game has been non-existent - it had 41 yards in its loss at No. 7 Oklahoma State and ranks last among Pac-12 teams at 58 per game. Those failures have put more pressure on Foles, who completed 37-of-51 for 398 yards and one touchdown last week. Foles actually leads Luck and the Pac-12 with 810 passing yards. The Wildcats defeated the Cardinal 43-38 in their last meeting in Tucson, Ariz., but that is when Luck became a household name by throwing for 423 yards and four TDs as Stanford blew a 15-point lead.

ABOUT STANFORD (2-0): Luck merely needs to stay healthy this season and he’ll be the top choice in next year’s NFL draft - anything else and he’ll walk away with all the big awards. So far Luck has thrown for 645 yards and six touchdowns as the Cardinal has rolled to easy wins over Duke and San Jose State by a combined 101-17. Stanford has won a school-record 10 straight games. Unlike the wounded Wildcats, Stanford has no major injuries to report and the Cardinal proved they are multi-dimensional on offense rushing for 230 yards last week. Stanford has won six of the last eight meetings.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Stanford is 7-0-1 against the spread in its last eight games.

2. Mike Stoops has defeated a ranked team in each of his seven years at Arizona. He is 9-22 overall against ranked teams.

3. Stanford ranks second in the nation in rushing defense at 28.5 yards per game.

PREDICTION: Stanford 42, Arizona 20 - The Cardinal will relish a game where they can play their starters for four quarters and not worry about running up the score. They still will.