USC Trojans (-3) at California Golden Bears, Total 57 |
USC returns to the road after a bye week and will be playing the first of two consecutive games away from the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Trojans first trip away from home didn’t work out so well, dropping a 43-22 contest against the Arizona State Sun Devils as 2.5-point road underdogs.
The Trojans are coming off their best game of the season offensively, racking up 582 yards and 48 points against Arizona, as quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receiver Robert Woods continue to pile up impressive numbers.
USC is 21-10-3 on Thursdays, which includes an 11-6-3 mark on Thanksgiving. Bettors will find that the team is 4-4 ATS on this particular day of the week, while posting a 3-7 ATS mark as a road favorite.
California will play its second consecutive nationally televised Thursday night contest on ESPN and will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in this series. The Golden Bears have averaged just 10.4 points per game over that span, while giving up an average of 28.6 points per game in the series.
The key matchup is likely to be Cal’s passing defense that ranks second in the Pac-12, allowing 228.4 yards per game, against a high-powered aerial attack of USC.
The Golden Bears have dropped their first two conference games just once during Jeff Tedford’s time on campus, but rebounded to win three such contests in a row afterwards.
sportsbook bettors will find that the program is 7-14 ATS versus conference opponents and the ‘under’ is 14-7 in that betting prediction span.
