DAVID WIEGAND
On TV THURSDAY, NOV. 30
ABC airs “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” special at 9 p.m. The CW airs a special episode of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us Once” at 9 p.m., called “Hanging Out With Penn & Teller.” Lifetime hosts a 90-minute reunion from season 16 of “Project Runway” at 9 p.m. “American Pickers” moves to its new time slot of 9 p.m. today on the History Channel. A special holiday edition of “The President Show” airs on Comedy Central at 10 p.m., called “I Came Up With Christmas,” an hourlong episode. A&E jumps on the Menendez murders bandwagon with the limited docuseries “The Menendez Murders: Erik Tells All,” premiering at 10 p.m. Viceland premieres “It’s Supper Time:
Despite finishing their regular season with a three-game winning streak and being the de facto home team, the 14thranked Stanford Cardinal is a three-point underdog against the 11th-ranked USC Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship Game scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (broadcasts at 5 p.m. on ESPN).
Playing so close to home is an advantage, said Jay Kornegay, who directs the sports book at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, but Stanford faces a quick turnaround after playing Saturday, Nov. 25, when the team had a 38-20 win over Notre Dame.
USC has been off since Nov. 18, when the Trojans beat the UCLA Bruins 28-23.
“The short week after a Saturday night game washes out home-field advantage,” Kornegay said. “But Stanford has been playing well lately.”
Kornegay expects Stanford to have a better showing than on Sept. 9, the last time the team played USC, when the Trojans won 42-24. But that game isn’t necessarily predictive of how the teams will do in the title game, he added. Stanford has consistently improved during the season and is undefeated in all three of its Pac-12 championship appearances. The Cardinal’s most recent title came in 2015, a victory over USC behind running back Christian McCaffrey.
Kornegay said the number of bettors by midday Monday, Nov. 27, was evenly split between Stanford and USC, with a bit more money bet on the Trojans. The over/under for total points was 58.5.
Johnny Avello, the sports book director at Wynn Las Vegas, said “Stanford got pushed around a little bit” in the September game against USC, “but probably learned from that and made some adjustments.”
One advantage that Stanford may have is the team’s head coach, David Shaw, plus the Cardinal’s defense has improved throughout the season, which “bodes well,” Avello said.
USC looked to be a contender for the national title before the season started, but its offense, led by quarterback Sam Darnold, has been inconsistent. Darnold has thrown 12 interceptions this season, though most of those were in the first six games — he’s thrown just three picks in his past six games.
Stanford’s offense is keyed by running back Bryce Love, a Heisman trophy contender, who’s had an outstanding season. Love has rushed for 1,848 yards, averaging an astonishing 8.6 yards per carry, despite playing recently on an injured ankle.
Neither team is expected to make the four-team playoff for the national title, Avello said. Stanford has three losses and is out of the hunt; USC has just two losses and would need a convincing win Friday to maintain its flickering hopes of qualifying for the playoff.