Arizona vs. USC Spread Prediction
The USC Trojans rebounded from their loss versus Texas two weeks ago with a nice win over Washington State last week. Will they carry that momentum into Tucson tonight and beat the Arizona Wildcats at 10:30 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
201 USC Trojans at 202 Arizona Wildcats
10:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 29, 2018
Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Trojans are 3-point favorites to beat the Wildcats. The total, meanwhile, sits at 60 points. As of this writing, 64% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Trojans.
USC Trojans
USC freshman WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (shoulder) is averaging 9.75 yards per target from the slot. St. Brown (6’1/195) has a 11-156-0 receiving line on 16 targets (68 percent completion percentage) when lining up inside for the Trojans. The five-star receiver can line up both inside-and-out and has been J.T. Daniels’ second most targeted receiver to start the season. However, St. Brown has struggled in the red zone, coming up with zero touchdowns on eight targets. The freshman might be a game-time decision this week after missing Wednesday’s practice with a shoulder issue.
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona sophomore QB Khalil Tate completed 9-of-17 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, while being credited with negative rushing yardage in Saturday’s 35-14 win over Oregon State. One of the more puzzling developments this season is the almost complete lack of any kind of rushing output from Tate. The sophomore signal-caller ended Saturday’s game credited with -9 yards rushing, and his season-long tally on the ground through four games is just 32 yards. Remember, Tate ripped it up for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing last year. We’ll see if he can get things revved up at home against USC next weekend, but with the way this offense is being run, we’re not holding our breaths.
Betting Trends
USC
The Trojans are 1-10 against the spread in their last 11 games played in the month of September.
Arizona
The Wildcats are 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games overall.
Prediction
Perhaps the USC Trojans found their offense a week ago and are undervalued in this spot tonight. Quarterback JT Daniels threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns in that victory over Washington state last week and he should continue to improve. Remember, we’re talking about a kid who should be a senior in high school. Meanwhile, Kevin Sumlin has ruined Khalil Tate, who last year was one of the more dynamic players in college football. Now, his rushing ability is apparently gone. I’ll lay the small number on the Trojans.
College Football Prediction: USC Trojans -3