Trojans vs Utes NCAA Football Spread/Handicapping
The USC Trojans had extremely high aspirations this year, but their loss at Stanford a couple weeks ago really hurt their chances of being a player on the national level.
USC is still a very good team, but they haven’t played up to the level many expected they would.
USC Trojans vs. Utah Utes
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City Utah
Thursday October 4, 9:00 PM EST
College Football Betting Odds from Bovada
Moneyline: Off
College Football Spread: USC -14 (-110) vs. Utah +14 (-110)
Over/Under: 47.5
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Utah has suffered multiple injuries this year, but the Utes have proven to be a very tough team to beat at home in the past few years.
USC
Matt Barkley came back to USC because he wanted to win a national title. It’s highly unlikely that the Trojans can get back into the national title race at this point.
Surprisingly, it has been the offense that has been disappointing compared to expectations. USC is 52nd in the nation in total offense.
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That’s not a terrible number, but for a team that many thought could be the best offense in the nation, it is definitely a disappointment. Barkley has 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Silas Redd and Curtis McNeal have been a great one-two punch in the backfield. The problem for USC has been the offensive line.
Stanford got to Barkley far too often, and that is something the team must improve.
The USC defense is much improved this year. Monte Kiffin’s unit has more overall team speed, and they have been very good against the run. Opponents have been able to pick on the beaten up secondary a bit. Two of the team’s top corners are out with an injury.
The Trojans need to get more of pass rush to help out the secondary.
Depth is a problem here, but the starters are very good. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Utah
The Utah Utes lost Jordan Wynn a couple weeks ago, and that really hurt the offense.
Wynn was a veteran dual-threat leader at quarterback, but he will not play football anymore after injuring his shoulder again. Jon Hays is the new starting quarterback for the team. Hays hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in any of his games this year.
Overall, the Utes averages just 298 yards of total offense per game, which ranks them 116th in the nation. The Utes have a very talented group of receivers, but none of them have more than nine catches on the year.
This offense must find a way to get the ball to the receivers on the outside.
The Utah defense is very solid. It all starts with a star at the defensive tackle. Star Lotulelei will probably be a first-round NFL draft pick. He is a terrific run-stuffer, and he is very agile for his size.
Opponents are averaging just 21.2 points per game against the Utah defense so far this year. At home, the Utes are allowing only 10.5 points per contest.
Two touchdowns is an awful lot to be laying on the road at a place like Utah. The fans will be very fired up, and the Utes should be able to get pressure on Barkley.
This should be closer than most expect.
Free College Football Pick: Utah +14
