Betting Angle For USC Vs. Notre Dame

USC vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 ET

When you think of College Football, games like this one are what you think of. Saturday always brings us some good ones, but I'm not sure we will get a better game than this one. Tonight we see a game where the eventual #1 overall pick of the NFL draft on USC takes on an underperforming but solid Notre Dame team.

Is it possible that USC was looking ahead a bit in their last game? Probably. They were taken to three overtimes by Arizona. If it happened on the road, I'd potentially understand, but it happened at home. That kind of thing should not happen as the Trojans are a vastly superior team to the Wildcats. Ultimately, all that matters is that they grabbed a victory, and that's precisely what they did. The offense is really good for USC and that happens as a result of Caleb Williams. He has an eye-popping 1,822 yards and 22 touchdowns compared to just one interception. He is able to find his receivers in space, has been smart with the ball, and has been accurate all season. The biggest problem with USC is that their defense has been absolutely awful. The defense has allowed 264 passing yards and 157 rushing yards on average to opponents. It helps when your offense is scoring 40+ points per game, but they also allowed 41 points to both of their last two opponents. With Williams under center, you'd have to wonder how good his team would be if he had a competent defense.

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 23: Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) looks on in action during a football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes on September 23, 2023 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Notre Dame was off to a good start for the season and then they weren't. Losing to Ohio State was somewhat understandable as they fell by just three points. I'd be willing to excuse that loss. We knew that was going to be a tough game and probably even a coinflip of a game, and that is what it was. Their hope to compete for the National Title is over after the loss last week to Louisville. In that game the defense couldn't figure out the Cardinals as they put up 33 points on Notre Dame - the most they've allowed all season. After putting up over 40 points in the two games before the Ohio State matchup, the offense has struggled. They've only 55 points over the three games. Look, Louisville is 6-0 so I can't say that they are a bad team, but they dominated Notre Dame. In this one, I have very real concerns about how the Fightin' Irish will be able to stop Williams.

Will the game come down to one score? Probably. My guess is that whoever has the ball last will win the game. Williams is really hard to bet against, but I do think the Notre Dame defense is going to do whatever they can to stop him and make the running game beat them. The sad reality is that USC can't stop anyone so if Notre Dame's quarterback, Sam Hartman, can get back on track here, it should be a win for the Irish. I'm going to back the under in this game because I'm not expecting USC to post as many points as normal, and I think Notre Dame slows the game down to keep Williams off the field as well.

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