Notre Dame vs. USC Trojans Football Betting Odds & Spread

Written November 26, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Now when USC and Notre Dame collide this weekend on the football field, it likely won’t have the same excitement surrounding it, at least after kickoff it won’t, as the Trojans come in ranked #6 at 9-1 and fresh off a 45-23 win over Stanford. For the Fighting Irish last week didn’t go so well, as the Irish were stunned at home by Syracuse 24-23. Now the Trojans can still win the Pac 10 this season, but needs some help, as Oregon has to beat Oregon State this weekend. For those of you looking to do a little NCAA football betting on this game, the oddsmakers have the Trojans 30.5 point favorites at BetUS.com

Making things even worse for the Fighting Irish, is they have to face USC on the road where they rarely lose. The loss last week against the Orangeman was something few saw coming, as Notre Dame was suppose to be far better than they have shown this season. Against Syracuse last week the offense started and finished slow, as it scored just 3 points in the first and last quarters, but were able to put 20 points on the board in the second and third quarters. Jimmy Clausen had a pretty solid day throwing the football, as he racked up 291 yards and 2 scores, but the Irish had little to no running in this one, as they had just 41 yards on the ground. Now the Irish have the talent on the offensive side of things to at least put some points on the board this week, but its unlikely they have the talent to keep up with the Trojans.

The Irish defense really let this team down, as they let Syracuse of all teams to score 14 fourth quarter points to win the game, including a 11 yard touchdown pass from Cameron Dantley to Donte Davis with just 42 seconds left on the clock. Now even though the season has been a disappointment, this was by far one of the worst losses in school history, and really makes you wonder if this team is really head in the right direction with Charlie Weis as head coach. Bet Notre Dame +30.5 at BetUS.com

Now the Trojans still have a slight shot at playing for a National Championship this year, but it doesn’t look good, as its hard to argue a team to play for it all when it could possibly not even win its conference title. One thing for sure is the Trojans have been rolling of late, and their last game was just another example of that, as they piled on 45 against Stanford on the road. The Trojans got one heck of a day from their running backs, as Stafon Johnson led the way with 115 yards and 2 scores, but CJ Gable was close behind with 85 yards rushing and a score, plus another score on a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Joe McKnight didn’t get in on the scoring, but needed just 8 carries to total 72 yards of his own, as the Trojans wound up rushing for 282 yards in this one. Mark Sanchez wasn’t too bad throwing the ball either, as he completed 11 of 17 passes for 136 yards and 2 scores. With the Irish coming in struggling, we are expecting this offense to put on a show, as this one will be over shortly after kickoff.

Now the Trojans defense had a pretty shaky start against Stanford, as the two teams actually went into half tied at 17, but the defense really turned it on in the 2nd half, as they let the Cardinals score just 6 more points the rest of the way. One concern you might have about the Trojans is the 202 yards it gave up on the ground, but with the Irish having little rushing attack to offer, its likely not going to be a problem this week. All this team has to keep the big plays in check, and they walk away winners easy in this one. Bet USC -30.5 at BetUS.com

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