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NCAA Football Picks 9/7: Will USC Cover Spread vs Utah State?

· Sep 06 - 5 minutes read

A matchup against Utah State could be dangerous for USC sandwiched between games with LSU and Michigan.
The Trojans rolled past Utah State 45-7 in the most recent matchup between the teams.
Check the latest Utah State vs USC odds at the BetUS sportsbook.

Are the USC Trojans headed into one of those dreaded trap games after making college football news with a strong Week 1 showing? A week after a late touchdown gave the Trojans an upset win over LSU and a week before they play their first Big Ten game versus reigning national champion Michigan, USC squares off against visiting Utah State on Saturday.

NCAA Football Picks 9/7: Will USC Cover Spread vs Utah State? — Miller Moss #7 of the USC Trojans | Candice Ward/Getty Images/AFP

USC had no problem covering as a 16.5-point favorite in the most recent meeting in 2016, with the Trojans winning 45-7. Three years earlier, the Aggies threw a scare into USC before the Trojans escaped with a 17-14 win.

The college football odds list the Trojans as the 28½-point favorite in their home opener.

The NCAA football futures odds have USC tied for 15th at +5000 in the odds of winning the national championship.

Utah State vs USC Game Information

Game: Utah State (1-0) vs USC (1-0)
Date/Time: Sept. 7, 11 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Utah State vs USC Live Stream: Big Ten Network

Utah State vs USC Odds And Prediction

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Utah State vs USC 9/7 Betting Keys

1. Moss Growing on USC Fans

It is supposed to be challenging to replace a quarterback who was a former Heisman Trophy winner and also the top pick in the NFL Draft? Miller Moss may have some growing pains but in the season opener, he carved up LSU’s defense to the tune of 378 passing yards in the 27-20 win.

With Williams opting out of the Holiday Bowl, Moss got to show what he can do and he set the Holiday Bowl record with six touchdown passes in a 42-28 victory. Keep that in mind when looking at the BetUS sportsbook odds for the first home start for Moss.

Moss spread it around against LSU with 10 different players catching passes. Kyron Hudson and Lake McCree led the way with five catches each while Ja’Kobi Lane had the lone touchdown catch.

Miller Moss isn’t messing around 😱#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/L6F7JLGtTJ

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 5, 2024

Utah State ranked in the middle of the Mountain West stats in passing yards allowed last season. It will be a big step up for Utah State going from playing Robert Morris to going up against USC.

Moss is 11th at +2800 in the Heisman Trophy odds.

2. USC Dominates Mountain West Teams

USC has won 15 games in a row against Mountain West teams. The Trojans have been favored by at least 20 points in eight of those games and covered against the NCAA football betting line in just three of those matchups.

Four of the last six times that USC met a team from the Mountain West Conference, the game landed over the total. That included the USC Trojans scoring 56 points against San Jose State and 66 versus Nevada in the first two games of the 2023 season.

Dating back to the 2012 season, Utah State is 0-5 against Big Ten programs. However, the Aggies have covered in three of the last four matchups. The most recent game was a 24-14 loss at Iowa in 2023 as a 24-point underdog.

.@bryson_barnes10 ✈️ @krowan_23 for 6️⃣!

This Week’s @CVTDbus Connection of the Game#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Rj3bztLJp2

— Utah State Athletics (@USUAthletics) September 3, 2024

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3. USC has Struggled to Cover as Home Favorite

Since the start of the 2021 season, USC is 13-5 outright but just 8-10 against the sports betting odds as a home favorite while Utah State has won just four of 11 games as a road underdog. The Aggies did cover in six of those games.

USC has seen 16 of its last 21 home games land over the total and it would be in the best interest of the visiting Aggies for this game to go under the 63-point total.

Utah State did post wins over Washington State and Oregon State in 2021 but in the following season, the lone matchup against a team from a power conference did not go well with Alabama putting up 55 points and more than 275 yards both running and passing.

If there is a potential silver lining for Utah State, it could be that the top nine tacklers against Robert Morris, led by Jordan Vincent and Jon Ross Maye, were either seniors or juniors.

Human nature could take over and allow Utah State to cover. Moss and the Trojans have already proven plenty of those who bet online wrong once this season. Will it happen again on Saturday?

Bet on Utah State +28½ and Over 63