USC vs Notre Dame College Football Predictions, Picks and Odds November 26

USC vs Notre Dame Betting Preview

USC is in line to play in the Pac-12 Championship game next weekend but first must take care of Notre Dame. WagerTalk college football handicapper Kevin Dolan shares this thoughts on Saturday’s rivalry game between USC and Notre Dame.

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Saturday, November 26	Pac 12 College Football Betting Notes
Point Spread:	USC Trojans -5.5 vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Total:	o/u 64.5 Points
Location:	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA
Game Time:	7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings)
TV:	ABC

USC vs Notre Dame Betting Analysis

With their College Football Playoff dreams dashed weeks ago, Notre Dame has been reduced to the role of spoiler this season. So far, they’ve done a pretty good job. Can the Irish spoil the Trojans’ march toward the College Football Playoff?

Notre Dame has marched through its ACC opposition this season, beating the two participants in next week’s conference championship game by 13 and 21 points respectively.

The Irish went 4-0 against ACC foes this season, out-scoring Clemson, North Carolina, Boston College and Syracuse by a combined score of 174-70.

The Irish have been less impressive against foes from the West Coast. Notre Dame escaped against Cal despite having less first downs and losing the turnover battle, then lost at home to 3-8 Stanford.

USC has moved up to No. 5 in the current AP Poll for the first time in five years and are on the cusp of a College Football Playoff spot should they win here and one of the other contenders slips up.

Notre Dame owns a competitive 48-36-5 advantage over USC in this series, including wins in each of the last four meetings.

Irish Defense Still Legit

Notre Dame has held opponents to just 20.3 points per game this season on average, which is top-20 in the country. The Irish defense is coming off a shutout victory over Boston College last week, so they are no doubt primed for another big defensive performance this weekend against USC.

Notre Dame’s passing defense has been lights-out this year, allowing just 186.8 yards per game. Earlier this season, the Irish defense held one of the nation’s best passing attacks from Ohio State to just 6.6 yards per pass attempt.

Caleb Williams Remains In the Heisman Hunt

Trojans’ QB Caleb Williams remains in red-hot form, ranking top-five in both QBR and total touchdowns this season. According to most Heisman straw polls, Williams sits behind only Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud in the hunt for national honors.

He helped his case last week against UCLA going 32-of-43 for a mammoth 470 yards and two touchdowns, and will have another opportunity on Saturday to grab some headlines.

USC vs Notre Dame Prediction

We’re taking the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday plus the points to end USC’s run and keep hold of the coveted Jeweled Shillelagh in the process.

While USC has been on a monumental run of late, they haven’t faced anyone quite as physical as the Irish up to this point of the season, with Notre Dame’s secondary unit being particularly effective.

The Trojans rank 88th in the country in yards allowed this season, with their dynamic offense being the difference maker in terms of getting them out of those holes. If that offense gets limited here on Saturday against the Irish, we’re not sure USC has the ability to stop Notre Dame at the other end.

This should be an incredibly close game on Saturday with our power rankings effectively making it a pick ’em game. So at the current number of Notre Dame +5.5, we’re happy to side with the Irish to win and cover here this weekend.

Prediction: Notre Dame Fighting Irish +5.5

Happy Hour CFB Kickoff Show

Join a panel of WagerTalk college football handicappers for the Happy Hour CFB Kickoff Show as we break down this week’s college football betting slate from a variety of handicapping angles.

College Football Odds Screen

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Meet the Author

‘The sharpest sports mind in Ireland’ is how one prominent newspaper dubbed Kevin Dolan after he became the first foreigner ever to win the World Series of Handicapping tournament back in 2015. “The Irishman” made his start wagering on GAA, football, soccer and boxing, all to immense success. Since becoming a professional bettor, he has since lit up the sports betting scene in the U.S. and abroad, winning two handicapping awards and writing a best-selling book on sports handicapping named ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Betting’.

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