USC
vs.
Utah
PAC-12
College Football
Pick – Analysis
10/25/14
This is an interesting Game that has plenty of Conference implications. The Pac-12 South is wide open at the moment with Four different teams, all ranked, having one Conference loss. These are two of them, with USC having the slight edge at 4-1 only because they have played more Conference Games than the other three. Still, on the road, the Trojans are a -1 point favorite at Sportsbook.ag over Utah.
USC has been a tricky team to bet this year, yet they are still 5-2 ATS. Their win at Stanford was impressive, but losses to Boston College and (home vs.) Arizona State weren’t great. And then they came back and won at Arizona. At this point, it’s almost a given that this will be a close Game, it may just depend on which team has the ball last.
Utah, usually a much better home team, only has one loss and that was a home Game to Washington State. The Utes are also 5-1 ATS, so they’ve had a solid start to the year. Their last three Games have been decided by a total of nine points, with one of those finishing in double overtime.
Cody Kessler is coming off an incredible 7-TD performance, although it was against lowly Colorado. His numbers are still impressive on the year, completing 69.5% of his passes to go with 17 TDs and only one pick. He’s spreading the ball around more as well, which shows his confidence, but Nelson Agholor (48 receptions, 7 TDs) is still Kessler’s favorite. USC also has a stout running Game led by Javorius Allen (909 yards, 8 TDs), who already looks ready for the NFL, and his backup Justin Davis.
Utah has a solid defense, but can be beat, as seen when they gave up 28 points to both UCLA and Washington State. USC probably has the most balanced attack of any team they’ve played yet.
As for the Utes, this might also be the toughest defense they’ve faced, even though the Trojans still aren’t all that impressive on that end.
The interesting thing for Utah is that they still haven’t found a definite starting quarterback. Kendal Thompson started the last Game after Travis Wilson struggled, but early this week Wilson was listed atop the Utes’ depth chart. It’s likely both guys will play in this Game, with whoever has the hot hand leading the way. Neither is a great passer, which is the main reason for the trouble, but Thompson has looked like the better runner.
With all that occurring, running back Devontae Booker has quietly led the team, surpassing 150 yards in three straight Games to go with five TDs in those contests. It’s likely Utah will pound Booker again in this one, and USC doesn’t have a great run defense so the holes should be there.
USC has held the upper hand in this series of late, winning the 3 most recent Games by fairly wide margins. Both squads are legit this year but in a pick em situation, we prefer Utah at home as they finally get over the USC hump after 3 straight setbacks. Utah +1