USC at Notre Dame Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will go for their fifth straight win this Saturday when they host the USC Trojans. The Fighting Irish opened the year with back-to-back losses against South Florida and Michigan, but have responded with four straight wins, including a 31-13 win over then No. 15 Michigan State. The Trojans come in off an impressive 30-9 win at Cal last Thursday. USC is 5-1 overall, but did get blown out 43-22 at Arizona State back on September 24. Notre Dame had lost eight straight to USC before beating the Trojans 20-16 on the road in 2010.

Taking a look at the week 8 college football spreads, oddsmakers currently have Notre Dame favored by 8.5-points over USC with the total set at 57.5 points.

USC Trojans:

The Trojans continued their strong start to the 2011 season with a convincing win over Cal last week. USC jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead and cruised to the finish for an easy win. While the Trojans didn’t put up huge offensive numbers, they were able to capitalize on five turnovers from a defense that had been torched for 84 points the previous two games.

The blowout loss to Arizona State is cause for concern when USC faces tough competition down the stretch, but what many people forget is the Trojans had a 22-21 lead late in the third quarter. Arizona State would go on to score the final 22 points, including a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The Trojans have really had a lot of success throwing the football. Junior quarterback Matt Barkley has completed 68.2% of his attempts for 1,782 yards with 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions. His favorite target has been sophomore wide out Robert Woods, who has hauled in 60 passes for 783 yards and six scores. While Woods will be in action this week, Barkley figures to be without wide out freshman wide out Marquise Lee, who is second on the team with 25 receptions for 404 yards and four scores.

The Trojans will also be without senior running back Marc Tyler, who leads the team with 368 yards and two touchdowns. The loss of Tyler shouldn’t hurt this offense too much, as they have a number of backs who are capable of stepping in and having a big game. Curtis McNeal is second on the team with 289 yards, and figures to be the starter against Notre Dame.

The Trojans will go up against a Notre Dame defense that has had its struggles stopping the pass this season. The Fighting Irish are giving up just 225.7 ypg through the air, but allowed Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Michigan State’s Kirk Cousins to each throw for over 325 yards.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:

The Fighting Irish have to be happy about their current four game winning streak, but this team could easily be 6-0 heading into their game against USC. Notre Dame outgained USF 391 to 128, but turned it over five times in a 20-23 loss. They also blew a 24-7 fourth quarter lead in a 31-35 loss at Michigan.

Turnovers were a huge problem for the Irish early in the season, giving up the ball 15 times in their first four games. They have done a much better job taking care of the football of late with zero turnovers in each of their last two games.

The offense has really taken off behind sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees, who has completed 66% of his passes for 1,503 yards with 14 touchdowns to six interceptions. Reese threw two interceptions in each loss this season, but has just two total during the four game winning streak.

Senior wide out Michael Floyd leads the team with 53 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns, but he is just one of a number of talented playmakers in the passing game. Sophomore tight end Tyler Eifert has caught 32 passes for 363 yards and three scores, and wide out Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones each have over 225 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Notre Dame has also had a lot of success running the ball behind sophomore Cierre Wood, who has carried it 113 times for 650 yards and six touchdowns. Notre Dame has also got some big time production out of backup Jonas Gray, who has 395 yards and four scores on just 47 carries.

While USC is coming off a game in which they held Cal to just 9 points, the Trojans defense has been very suspect in 2011. They were actually outgained 329 to 313 in total yards, and come in giving up 371.2 yards per game. The USC defense has really struggled against the pass, giving up 271.7 ypg.

Betting Trends:

USC is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Notre Dame is 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games following a bye week.

Steve Janus delivered another winning week in college football. The expert handicapper is 23-7 over his last 30 college picks, and ready to help you make a profit in week 8.

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