No. 23 USC Trojans at Arizona State Sun Devils (-2.5), Total 53.5 |
USC closes out September with its first road game of the 2011 season, facing the Arizona State Sun Devils inside Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ. The Trojans have tallied a perfect 3-0 straight-up record and are 2-1 ATS this season.
The Trojans own an 18-9 all-time edge in this series, including wins in the last 11 meetings overall. When playing in Tempe, USC has garnered a 9-5 record. Despite the straight-up success, the team has failed to cover the number in five of the last six meetings.
Quarterback Matt Barkley has completed 80 of 116 passes for 892 yards, with nine touchdowns and an interception through three home games. The junior signal-caller is 28th nationally in passing efficiency and the wide receivers feel he’s one of the best in the country.
“His arm is definitely stronger than it was,” commented Trojans wide receiver Brandon Carswell. “I don’t know what he did in the summer, but I like it.”
If he plays like he did last week, Barkley will walk out of the desert with a victory, completing 26-of-39 passes and tying a school record with five touchdown passes.
On the other side of the ball, the Trojans defense has clamped down after allowing 400 yards a game in 2010, giving up just 317.3 yards a game, ranking third in the Pac-12. Granted, the schedule has not been very tough.
sportsbook bettors will find that the Trojans are 11-17 ATS over the last two-plus seasons and will be playing as a road underdog of a field goal or less for the first time over that betting prediction span.
Arizona State will try and bounce back from its first loss of the season, dropping a 17-14 contest to Illinois as two-point road underdogs. The Sun Devils actually finished that contest with a 122-yard advantage in total yards.
Offensively, the team had trouble protecting quarterback Brock Osweiler, as he was sacked six times. The team also turned the ball over three times, which was simply too much overcome.
Head coach Dennis Erickson is 1-8 against USC in his head coaching career, with the lone victory coming in 2000, when his Oregon State Beavers handed the Trojans a 31-21 loss.
This will be the second straight home game for Arizona State against a ranked team in the Top 25. The Sun Devils came away with a 37-30 overtime win against Missouri two weeks ago, but failed to cover the spread as 10-point home favorites.
Defensively, the Sun Devils will likely blitz Barkley like last year, as he was sacked a career-high four times while throwing for just 215 yards in last year’s meeting. The unit is dealing with some key injuries, which is certainly going to hamper their original game plan a bit.
college football betting players will notice that the Sun Devils are 9-4 ATS at home and 11-7 ATS versus conference opponents.
College football handicappers are likely going to side with the Trojans being 10-2 ATS as a road underdog, while the favorite is 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings.
