Stanford vs. USC Spread Prediction
A big Pac-12 matchup takes place tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET when the Stanford Cardinal look to run its record to 2-0 against fellow 1-0 foe USC. Will the Trojans pull off the upset or will the Cardinal cover the spread one week after having trouble with San Diego State?
Game Snapshot
387 USC Trojans vs. 388 Stanford Cardinal
8:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Cardinal is 5.5-point favorites to beat the Trojans. The total, meanwhile, sits at 56.5 points. As of this writing, 60% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Cardinal.
USC Trojans
USC freshman QB J.T. Daniels went 22-of-35 for 282 yards and one touchdown in Saturday’s 43-21 win over UNLV. Daniels (6’3/210) was able to beat out Jack Sears and Matt Fink this offseason after heading to USC one year early. The five-star recruit showed glimpses of his upside and chemistry with his high school teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown in his first start — the Mater Dei duo converted for a 43-yard touchdown. With 35 pass attempts and one win under his belt, Daniels will visit Stanford next Saturday. This will be Daniels’ first big test of the season.
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford senior RB Bryce Love ran for 29 yards on 18 carries and caught three passes for 18 yards in a 31-10 victory over San Diego State on Friday. Love is considered the Heisman favorite coming into the year by many. This won’t help those odds. The senior tailback was completely bottled up by the SDSU defense, and outside of a 14-yard run, he was unable to get anything going. It’s just one game — and if there’s a positive, he was involved in the passing game — but this is a tremendously disappointing opener for one of the most electric players in college football. He’ll look to get back on track against USC next Saturday.
Betting Trends
USC
The over is 7-2 in the Trojans’ last nine games overall.
Stanford
The under is 5-1 in the Cardinal’s last six home games.
Prediction
I like grabbing the points here. Bryce Love won’t be bottled up for two straight weeks but USC has enough talent to keep this a one-score game and perhaps even pull off the upset. Aca’Cedric Ware rushed for 100 yards and a score while Vavae Malepeai scored two touchdowns. USC allowed just two sacks and if the Trojan offensive line can protect the QB again tonight then an outright upset isn’t out of the question. The Trojans are 62-32-3 against Stanford overall, which includes a 31-28 win in last season’s Pac-12 title game. Despite the fact that Stanford will be in a revenge spot, I’ll take the points tonight.
College Football Week 2 Prediction: USC Trojans +5.5