The Cal Golden Bears (3-5, 1-4 Pac-12) face the No. 9 USC Trojans (7-1, 5-1) Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the California vs. USC odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
The Golden Bears are desperately seeking to get back in the win column following 4 straight losses. California lost 42-24 to Oregon last Saturday, failing to cover as a 16.5-point underdog.
The Trojans were able to bounce back from their loss at Utah Oct. 15 by taking down Arizona 45-37 last Saturday, however, they weren’t able to cover as 14-point favorites. USC has gotten stellar production from QB Caleb Williams en route to earning the No. 9 spot in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
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California at USC odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): California +750 (bet $100 to win $750) | USC -1400 (bet $1,400 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): California +21.5 (-110) | USC -21.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 61.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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California at USC picks and predictions
Prediction
USC 45, California 20
Moneyline
PASS on the moneyline in this game with USC (-1400) being heavy favorites at home against California. You won’t receive much in return if the Trojans secure a victory.
Against the spread
The Trojans likely need to win convincingly the rest of the way to give themselves a chance to secure a spot in the College Football Playoffs. With that in mind, USC -21.5 (-110) is where I’m leaning as the Trojans should be able to cruise to an easy win at home.
The favorite is 12-4 ATS in the last 16 meetings between these teams, and California is 5-11 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
Over/Under
Saturday will only be the 3rd time this season that USC is in a game where the total isn’t set at more than 62 points. The previous 2 times the Trojans easily reached the Over, so give me OVER 61.5 (-105) despite the Golden Bears struggling to score at times.
The Over is 8-1 in USC’s last 9 games against a team with a losing record and the is 5-0 in the last 5 home games for the Trojans when they’ve faced a team with a losing road record.
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