Alamo Bowl 2017: Stanford Cardinal vs. TCU Horned Frogs: how to watch, stats, preview, & more

The Cardinal have a shot at another 10-win season

By nickdempsey Dec 28, 2017, 5:33am PST

#15 TCU Horned Frogs (10-3) vs #13 Stanford Cardinal (9-4)

Stanford football to face TCU in 2017 Alamo Bowl

How to Watch:

Start Time: Thursday, December 28, 6:00p.m. PST

Location: Alamodome — San Antonio, Texas

Television: ESPN

Radio: Tune In

Live Streaming: Watch ESPN

2017 Alamo Bowl preview: TCU vs Stanford

2017 Alamo Bowl Numbers:

Vegas Odds: Stanford +3, 49 O/U

FPI Matchup Predictor: Stanford 45.5% win probability

S&P+ Ratings: 29-25 Stanford defeat

Massey Rankings: Stanford win probability of 33% with a projected final score of 21-15

CFB Predictions Composite: TCU by 2.19, 70.5% Pick TCU by an average of 3.1 points (31 models); 29.5% Pick Stanford by an average of 2.4 points (13 models). 39 of 44 Models predict a one possession game.

Stanford Football: Alamo Bowl: Riverwalk and Talk

From Frogs O’ War: “Advanced Stats Preview: Alamo Bowl”

“Stanford is battle-tested: the Cardinal 8 top 40 teams on their schedule, in terms of S&P+ rating, whereas TCU has faced only two such teams. TCU has faced teams similar in profile to Stanford, in terms of rushing efficiency - Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia, and Arkansas all have similar levels of rushing offense, but none of them have a Bryce Love or a Stanford front seven package. TCU has been a hyper-efficient run defense - third in the country. All season, the Frogs have made their money stopping rushing attacks, and Stanford has made theirs in securing big running plays. The TCU defense has been a little bit big-play happy (126th in Defensive IsoPPP, 59th in Rushing, 119th in Passing).

This game hinges on the Frogs ability to string together consistent, touchdown drives while forcing Stanford to earn their points in short yardage. Should the Frogs be able to force Stanford to play white-bread, football-flavored football, perhaps they can restrain Bryce Love to mere goodness-not-greatness, and then they can notch another hallmark win over a major program.”