Notre Dame vs USC Picks and Predictions Oct 23

Notre Dame vs USC Betting Preview

WagerTalk college football handicapper Tony Finn offers his Notre Dame vs USC betting preview for Saturday, October 23 in South Bend, Indiana. At the time of posting, the Fighting Irish are a 7-point home favorite over the Trojans with the total sitting at 57.5 points.

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Notre Dame vs USC Predictions

USC Trojans (3-3 overall, 2-3 Pac-12) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1 overall).
Total: 57.5 Points
USC is 21-9 against the spread following a straight-up loss.
Notre Dame is 1-4 against the spread in their last five games as a home favorite.

The No. #13 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish host longstanding rival Southern California Trojans in South Bend on Saturday. The two tradition-rich football programs have squared off every year since World War II save last season. The one loss the Irish sustained this season was to No. #2 ranked Cincinnati Bearcats. The Trojans enter Week 8 of the college football slate off a home loss to the Utah Utes and will enter Notre Dame Stadium losers of four straight road games.

The Trojans are the underdog for the first time this season. USC’s 3-3 against the spread record find the Trojans with a -13.5-point cover vs MWC San Jose State, a -7-point successful spread winner against Washington State, and carried a -9-point handicap in their 23-point victory over Colorado. Notre Dame is 3-3 ATS with two of the three ATS winners coming outside of South Bend. The Irish traveled to Madison as 6-point dogs that resulted in a 41-13 blowout Irish victory. Before last week’s bye, Notre Dame met the Virginia Tech Hokies and cashed as 2-point road dogs in a 32-29 win in Blacksburg.

Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan was announced the starter for Saturday’s showdown with USC. Freshman back-up Tyler Buchner will get a share of the game snaps head coach Brian Kelly told the national media in a Monday presser. The Irish have featured two quarterbacks in every game this season including their opener against Florida State. The experienced Coan, who transferred from Wisconsin, solidified his status as the No. #1 in the 41-38 victory against Florida State throwing for four touchdowns.

Both the Trojans and Irish come off a scheduled Week 7 bye giving the teams two weeks to prepare for this primetime college football showcase. USC quarterback Kedon Slovis was a preseason Heisman Trophy hopeful but early seasons disappointing performances by Slovis and the Trojans nixed any opportunity Slovis had to be a consideration. Slovis passed for 401 yards in the Trojans’ last game, however, the result was a 42-26 blowout loss to Utah.

The Irish have been challenged offensively this year and have engineered their 5-1 overall mark by handing their hat on a quality defensive unit. Conversely, the Trojans’ primary team liability has come via a porous defense.

The Irish have won three in a row in this rivalry and have significant edges in Saturday’s tilt. The Irish opened as -4-point home favorites at Circa on Sunday morning and within two hours and several sharp outfits pushing in with heavy paper on the Irish, the line moved to -6.5 points by early afternoon. The Circa book took moved Notre Dame to -7-points on Tuesday and has yet to see any buyback on the current key number of -7.

The offensively challenged Irish have a favorable matchup in the trenches against the Trojans. The smart direction in Saturday’s annual meet between the Trojans and Irish is a recommendation to piggyback the sharp money laying the touchdown before an additional push by the Pros moves the handicap on the wrong side of the current 7-points.

Notre Dame vs USC Analysis from The GoldSheet

The Trojans interestingly likely prefer to play on the road rather than at home, where they’ve lost three-straight and given up 42 points or more in each. The road has been much kinder to USC, as the Trojans have won eight regular season road games in a row since they last visited South Bend (and lost) in 2019. At 3-3 and in a coaching flux under interim head man Donte Williams, argument can be made for Notre Dame, but Trojan QB Kedon Slovis and Drake London (already 64 catches, 932 yards receiving) are a duo that looms much larger over this game than any other and have helped USC to a No. 12-ranked pass offense. Notre Dame offense has been contained lately, generating just 20 points per game and 332 yards per game in total offense over the last four outings (although to their credit, the Irish have covered three of those games).

Notre Dame vs USC Video Preview

After the Trojans won eight-straight years from 2002-09, the Fighting Irish have recaptured some recent dominance in this annual rivalry. WagerTalk college football handicappers Kevin Dolan, Bryan Leonard and Drew Martin share their thoughts on the Notre Dame vs USC showdown in South Bend.

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