Utah State USC Odds

The USC Trojans look to regroup on Saturday, September 10th as they host the Utah State Aggies in Week 2 action. The Trojans are 5-0 all-time against the Aggies, though they only won 17-14 at home in their last meeting in 2013.

USC (0-1) is coming off one of the worst performances in school history. What was one of the most anticipated games on opening weekend turned into a blowout as USC was trounced 6-52 by defending national champion Alabama.

Utah State (1-0) took care of business with a 45-6 victory over Weber State in Week 1. The Aggies won this game on the ground by rushing for 428 yards and averaging 9.7 per carry.

Kickoff inside Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is scheduled for 2:00 EST Saturday afternoon with Pac-12 Network providing the television coverage. Oddsmakers have installed USC as a 17-point favorite over Utah State with a total set of 59 points.

My Early Lean: Utah State +17

I have a really hard time trusting USC laying 17 points with how they closed last season and how they started 2016 under Clay Helton. They lost to Stanford by 19 in the Pac-12 Championship, were upset by Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl, and then lost 6-52 to Alabama.

That game against the Crimson Tide was every bit the blowout that the final score showed. They only managed 194 yards of total offense and were outgained by 465 yards. They gave up 242 rushing yards to the Crimson Tide after breaking in six new starters among their front seven defensively this season.

Utah State is no pushover, winning at least nine games in three of the past four seasons. The only exceptions was last year, but this team was better than its 6-7 record would indicate as it actually outgained teams 371-332 for the season, or by 39 yards per game.

The Aggies pride themselves on running the football, which will be a key to success against USC. They rushed for 428 yards and 9.7 per carry in their 45-6 season-opening home victory over Weber State last week.

The Aggies pride themselves on running the football, which will be a key to success against USC. They rushed for 428 yards and 9.7 per carry in their 45-6 season-opening home victory over Weber State last week.

They’ll clearly find some success on the ground against this inexperienced front seven for USC. They had four different players rush for at least 53 yards against Weber State, including 208 and three touchdowns from senior Devante Mays. Kent Myers is a dual-threat QB who has made 13 starts over two seasons at Utah State.

Plays on any team (UTAH ST) – first 2 weeks of the year, bowl team from last season who lost 4 or more of their last 5 games, team that had a losing record last season are 30-8 (78.9%) ATS since 1992.

I really question how USC will come back from that loss to Alabama as it was so deflating. The Aggies are 5-1 ATS in their last six games vs. a team with a losing record. USC is 1-6 ATS in its last seven games overall and is clearly failing to live up to expectations under Helton’s watch.

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