USC vs. Syracuse Betting Line at Trojans -26
Carrie Stroup here and I have your USC Trojans vs. Syracuse Orange betting line for Saturday afternoon’s big College Football. All odds can be found at Sportsbook.com, which was offering up to $250 in FREE CASH.
Line & Total: USC -26 & 65
Opening Line & Total: Trojans -26.5 & 58
Despite curiously losing its No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll, the second-ranked USC Trojans head east to take on Syracuse in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
Two of the top-five passers in the nation will meet in East Rutherford, NJ for a neutral-site game that will have many more fans dressed in orange with Syracuse’s campus located less than 250 miles away from MetLife Stadium. Heisman front-runner Matt Barkley (372 passing yards last week) and Syracuse QB Ryan Nassib, fresh off a 470-yard, 4 TD performance, expect to make this an entertaining air show. While USC crushed Hawaii 49-10 last week, Syracuse gained 596 yards against Northwestern, but still lost 42-41. Barkley outdueled Nassib in last year’s 38-17 home win over the Orange, throwing for 324 yards and 5 TD, while Nassib had just 230 passing yards and one score. With the home loss to Northwestern, Syracuse has now dropped six straight games (SU and ATS) dating back to last year. Meanwhile, the Trojans, who led Hawaii 35-0 at halftime last week, don’t usually stumble after a huge offensive showing. Since 1992, USC is an impressive 39-23 ATS (63%) after scoring 42+ points in its previous game. Another favorable trend for the Trojans is that all favorites of 21.5-to-31 points off a non-cover where the team won as a favorite, with 4+ more total starters returning than the opponent, are 40-14 ATS (74%) since 1992.
Barkley has a ton of weapons at his disposal, in particular the WR duo of Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Woods caught eight passes for 82 yards and a TD against Syracuse last year, while Lee tallied 63 yards and a touchdown on just two receptions. The duo also shined against Hawaii last week, especially Lee who racked up 197 yards on 10 catches, including a 75-yard TD catch. Lee also returned a kick 100 yards for another touchdown. Woods scored twice against the Warriors, but gained just 42 yards on six catches. USC’s air attack could be the best in the nation, but the Trojans will be looking to ratchet up their ground game after rushing for a mere 81 yards on 23 carries last week. Penn State transfer Silas Redd was impressive though, gaining 56 yards on just nine carries and adding a 41-yard reception. He will likely assume a bigger role in his second game with his new team. USC’s defense sometimes gets overlooked, but it was certainly impressive in holding Hawaii’s offense to 10 points and 264 total yards, well below the 31.5 PPG and 404 total YPG the Warriors posted in 2011. The Trojans limited them to 1.8 yards per carry and 5.3 yards per pass attempt last week.
Nassib completed a school record 44 passes last week, connecting with nine different receivers. His top option was Marcus Sales, who tallied 117 yards on his 11 receptions, but Jeremiah Kobena scored a pair of second-half TD receptions, finishing with 79 yards. The Orange will likely try to establish the run more to sustain longer drives to keep USC’s offense off the field. Junior Prince-Tyson Gulley rumbled for 50 yards on just seven carries, but his teammates gained a mere 76 yards on 23 attempts (3.3 YPC). But if Syracuse wants to hang around in this game, it has to be more disciplined in all facets. The Orange turned the ball over three times, committed 12 penalties and surrendered an 82-yard punt return TD in the loss to Northwestern last week. They also trailed 35-13 late in the third quarter before their offense got back on track and scored 28 unanswered points.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
