No. 11 Stanford (0-0) vs. UC-Davis (0-0)

Michael Peterson: Stanford 55, UC-Davis 13

Saturday’s contest should be little more than a tune-up for the Cardinal as they prepare for arguably their biggest game of the season’s first half the following week against USC. Barring poor performances, expect to see many of the regulars on the bench after halftime. However, it might be worth it for Shaw to play the offensive line for the full four quarters, or at least three, in order to prepare for preseason All-American and potential top-five NFL Draft pick Leonard Williams and a vaunted USC defensive line. That being said, any injury in this game would be the worst-case scenario for the Card, unless UC-Davis can of course pull off an improbable upset.

Ashley Westhem: Stanford 38, UC-Davis 14

As Shaw has pointed out, the team is not rebuilding this year, but is reloading and coming fresh off of training camp. I think this team is as ready as ever to open the season with a statement win; otherwise, the odds don’t look good for the rest of their season with such a tough schedule. And looking at Stanford’s depth chart…Well, the Cardinal are just too deep for the Aggies. Ty Montgomery is slated to start and see plenty of playing time, which will certainly help the Card stick the nail in the Aggies’ coffin and get him ready for USC, but why risk re-injuring him when you have plenty of capable receivers? Even though Stanford is 11-3 in its past 14 home openers, this is not a game to be overlooked. The game is played no matter what the odds are because anyone can win and we’re still talking about a team that lost a winnable, gimme game at Utah last year and even lost to the Aggies in 2005. Overall, though, it should act as a nice tune-up for USC.

George Chen: Stanford 48, UC-Davis 13

For most college football games, the phrase “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings” is applicable — just ask Washington State what happened in last year’s New Mexico Bowl. But for Stanford vs. UC-Davis, the fat lady finished singing the moment the Cardinal’s 2014 schedule was released back in January. This is the West Coast version of Alabama vs. Chattanooga. I think Stanford could easily put up 60 if David Shaw left his starters in, but the Cardinal might leave the field after two quarters to start game-planning for USC because this game will be over by halftime. You know what game would actually be entertaining? UC-Davis vs. Cal. That being said, it’ll be a good chance for some of the younger Stanford players like Christian McCaffrey, Ryan Burns and Terrence Alexander to see the field and help Shaw finalize his depth chart.

Do-Hyoung Park: Stanford 65, UC-Davis 6

Remember that this is an almost completely intact Stanford offense that put up 63 points on poor Sonny Dykes and Cal through the air to close out last season. Not only does most of that passing threat return, it’s also bigger, badder and better after an offseason of continued work and conditioning. Although, as my colleagues have mentioned above, UC-Davis is the appetizer to the main course that is USC looming in week 2, there’s no reason for Stanford to take its foot off the gas pedal against the Aggies because this game is the only chance it gets to get its offense and defense truly clicking in a game situation before the date with the Trojans (and the team will be eager to get back on the field rolling after a long offseason). Expect this one to get ugly quickly, and expect to see Evan Crower and even Ryan Burns get in on the scoring action, although Shaw might wait longer than usual to pull his first team with USC looming.

David Cohn: Stanford 52, UC-Davis 10

As I said in my roundtable response, I believe that, outside of winning Saturday’s contest, injury prevention will be of the utmost importance for Stanford ahead of next week’s clash with USC. Forgive me for looking ahead to the Trojans, but UC-Davis simply lacks the talent to compete with the Cardinal when Stanford plays anything close to a good game. While Aggie fans may be hoping for another 2005-like upset from their team, this 2014 Stanford squad is significantly better than the Card’s 2005 version. In addition, Stanford is too good at home (undefeated against any team not named Oregon since 2009) for a UC-Davis upset to be anything more than a dream.

If football predictions aren’t your thing and you want a palm reading or a Tarot card reading to see what the future holds for you, contact The Daily’s wannabe oracles at mrpeters ‘at’ stanford.edu, awesthem ‘at’ stanford.edu, gchen15 ‘at’ stanford.edu, dpark027 ‘at’ stanford.edu and dmcohn ‘at’ stanford.edu.