Washington is trying to wrestle the upper hand in the rivalry with USC, claiming three outright victories and four covers over the last five meetings. The undefeated Huskies hope to continue along those lines when they host the Trojans on Saturday night in Seattle.
Point spread: The Huskies opened as 10-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)
College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 48.3-28.1 Huskies (College football picks on every game)
Why the USC Trojans can cover the spread
After stumbling out of the gate at 1-3 this season the Trojans have won five games in a row, after disposing of Oregon State last week 45-20. USC jumped out to a 17-0 first-quarter lead on the Beavers and pushed that to 45-13 early in the fourth, on its way to an easy cover as a 17-point favorite.
The Trojans outgained OSU 579-288, outrushed the Beavers 270-85 and won time of possession by a 35/25 split. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold threw two touchdown passes, against one interception, and now owns a 20/4 touchdowns/interceptions ratio on the season. And sophomore running back Ronald Jones backed up his 223-yard performance against Cal two weeks ago by bolting for 171 yards and four touchdowns.
Southern Cal has now outgained and outrushed each of its last six opponents. At 5-2 in conference play the Trojans trail first-place Colorado by a half-game in the Pac-12 South, but they own the tiebreaker on the Buffaloes thanks to that 21-17 victory over CU a month ago.
Why the Washington Huskies can cover the spread
College football teams often make great strides in their third seasons under new coaching regimes, and that’s exactly what’s going on with Chris Petersen‘s Huskies. Washington moved to 9-0 after crushing Cal in Berkeley last week 66-27. The Huskies grabbed a quick 21-6 lead, let the Bears get within 21-20, then scored the next 38 points of the game on their way toward covering as 19-point favorites.
Washington piled up 704 yards of offense on the night, 287 on the ground and 417 through the air. Sophomore quarterback Jake Browning threw six touchdown passes, three each to John Ross and Dante Pettis, against zero picks. He now owns a 34/3 TD/INT ratio on the season.
The Huskies have now outgained every opponent this season by an average of 170 yards per. At 6-0 in conference play Washington is tied with Washington State for the lead in the North Division.
Smart pick
Southern Cal is much improved from September, but Washington holds edges in the running game and on defense. And home-field advantage, often overrated, might play a part here. The Huskies should win and should take care of this spread at sports betting sites.
Betting trends
Southern Cal is 1-4 ATS in its last five games against Washington.
The total has gone UNDER in Southern Cal’s last three games against Washington.
Washington is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games at home after consecutive road games.
All college football betting lines and point spreads data courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and Odds Shark YouTube for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.
