NCAAF
(11/26/22) 7:30 PM Eastern.
Spread: Notre Dame +4.5 / USC -4.5
Moneyline: Notre Dame +150 / USC -200
Total: Over / Under 63.5
The Pick
Notre Dame +4.5. There’s going to be plenty of points scored in this game but the Fighting Irish defense is much much better than USC’s. The Trojans have let up 35 or more in 4 of their last 5 games. The one outlier was against one of the worst College Football teams in the nation: Colorado. USC’s defense has struggled in all facets of the game, but Notre Dame owns a significant advantage on the ground. ND ranks 23rd in rush success and 8th in line yards while USC’s defense ranks 124th and 92nd in the same categories. Being able to run the football also keeps the explosive USC offense on the sidelines and out of rhythm. They also do most of their passing damage off play-action to tight end Michael Mayer. UCLA’s Tight End Michael Ezeike reeled in 3 touchdown passes against this Trojans defense last week. On the other side this is without a doubt the best offense the Fighting Irish will face but they’ve had success against other good QB’s. They held NC’s star QB Drake Maye to his lowest completion % of the season and completely shut down Clemson’s offense a few weeks ago. Notre Dame also gets starting safety Brandon Joseph back for this game. Both teams are going to score points but the Fighting Irish defense can be trusted to get a few extra stops. Take the points in a tight game.
