Notre Dame vs. USC Prediction
No. 12 USC hopes to give Notre Dame another bit of bad news for the week when the two meet up today at 3:30PM ET.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, USC is the clear favorite in this game, as the Trojans are getting odds of -18 points against Notre Dame. The over/under total for the game is listed at 57.5 points. Notre Dame has won and covered the spread in three of the last four in this series.
It’s been another tough week for the Fighting Irish. It started last weekend when they fell to 4-7 on the season with a 34-31 loss to Virginia Tech at home. That was followed by the NCAA ruling the Irish must vacate their wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Brian Kelly is likely on the hot seat as his Irish are just 4-7 against the spread as well. Notre Dame is now giving up 26.3 points and 375.8 yards per game on defense while the offense is averaging 31.3 points and 418.5 yards per contest. DeShone Kizer has thrown for 2,705 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 509 yards to lead the offense. Josh Adams has added 753 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
USC is coming off a 36-14 win at UCLA last week to move to 8-3 on the season. The Trojans have now won seven straight games, covering the spread in six of those seven wins. USC is 7-4 against the spread for the 2016 season. USC has been very solid on defense, allowing just 21.7 points and 354.5 yards per game this season. Offensively, USC is putting up 31.8 points and 474.1 yards per contest. Quarterback Sam Darnold has thrown for 2,428 yards and 24 touchdowns while Ronald Jones II has run for 893 yards and 10 scores.
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With this game being at USC, I see Notre Dame having trouble against this defense. Kizer is likely to face some pressure and not be able to escape the pocket as much as ND would like him too. The Irish have shown some improvement on defense as the season has progressed, but they are still just an average defense at their best. Darnold and Jones should be able to lead the Trojans to a cover at home today.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13 PREDICTION: USC -17.5