Taking STANFORD here. You can look at my website and read my Big 10 preview from back in August. I said that the Spartans were a legit BCS title contender. The defense is that good, but the offense needed some help. We cashed with Sparty last week in an outright win. No surprise there. But now they get a stiff test from a team that can match them on the defensive side of the ball. Stanford I feel played some better offenses on the year. I know they have 2 losses on the year. But if we take into account that the Utah loss was off a tough ranked Washington game with a ranked UCLA on deck we can see them being knocked off. Then they dropped a game to USC after knocking off then BCS favorite Oregon, keeping the high-flying Ducks off the board until the 4th quarter. For Sparty, I pretty much lay blame for their Notre Dame loss at the offense. The unit struggled early. Off a game vs Youngstown State, that should have been a win instead of running up 50+ points on the Penguins. As well as Michigan State has been playing since that loss, I just feel that they haven't faced a tough, smash-mouth team like Stanford. Their style is nearly identical to them. I know Sparty will be excited about this Rose Bowl gig. But I am pretty sure Stanford is pumped also. They played in the 1st and now are playing in the 100th. I believe Stanford played against tougher and better teams overall this year. This isn't a spot where the Tree will be unmotivated. My gut says this is going to be a 5-10 point Cardinal win. 5* Best Bet STANFORD