USC Trojans (3-2 SU, 3-2 ATS, 2-3-0 OU) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1 SU, 5-1 ATS, 3-3-0 OU)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, October 17, 2015
Where: Notre Dame Stadium In South Bend, Indiana
Lines: Notre Dame -6.5
Total: 61
What a rivalry this has been over the years, but Notre Dame is looking for revenge after losing 49-14 to USC on the road last year. The Trojans are off a shocking 17-12 home loss to Washington, which was their 2nd loss in the Pac-12 already this season, while the Irish bounced back from a tough loss in Clemson to beat Navy by 17 points.
The USC Trojans come in at 3-2 overall, but they are just 1-2 in the Pac-12. Now the news gets worse for the team as they just found out that head coach Steve Sarkisian has been fired. The announcement was made after he showed up at the team facilities on Sunday appearing intoxicated according to the Los Angeles Daily News. He was not allowed at team meetings or practice on Sunday. Pat Haden stated that Sarkisian is not well and that a leave of absence was needed, and then he was fired the next day. Offensive coordinator Clay Helton will take over the team and is now charged with getting them back on track after their lackluster home loss to Washington.
In the loss to the Huskies, USC totaled just 346 yards overall and just 156 yards passing. This is a team that was averaging 350+ ypg passing and 500+ yards of total offense coming into the game. Cody Kessler’s shot at the Heisman really took a hit after as he hit just 16-29 passes for 156 yards, with no TDs and two INTs in the game. Cody is still having a very good year as he has hit 69.5% of his passes overall for 1453 yards, with 15 TDs and just 3 INTs, but the performance vs the Huskies has to knock him down a notch or two.
Notre Dame had a miserable 2nd half of their season last year in which they won just 1 of their last 6 games, after starting the year at 6-0. One of those losses down the stretch was a 49-14 blowout loss at USC. In that game, USC rolled up 372 passing and 205 yards on the ground, while Notre Dame totaled just 349 yards overall. It was just a bad end to a bad second half of the year for the Irish.
This year USC will face a different Notre Dame team, especially on defense, where the Irish are much stronger than a year ago. Last year the Irish allowed 404 ypg and 29 ppg, compared to allowing just 337.7 ypg and 21.2 ppg this year. They are led by a very stout front wall, that is one of the best in the nation. They are not all defense though, as their offense comes in ranked 14th in total yards (503.5 ypg) and 19th in points scored (37.8 ppg). DeShone Kizer has been very good for the Irish in relief of Zaire at QB as he has thrown for 1143 yards with 8 TDs and 4 INTS.
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Free College Football Pick
[204] Notre Dame -6.5 over USC
Couple of things really favor Notre Dame in this game. First the Irish have revenge on their minds from last year's bad loss and second is that this is not a good situational spot for the Trojans. Let us also note that head coach Steve Sarkisian will be taking a leave of absence and will not be on the sidelines for this game. USC wants to win the Pac-12 and they are off a tough home loss to Washington. Now they have to travel cross-country to take on the Irish, with a home game vs undefeated and highly ranked Utah on deck. Tough spot for the Trojans here. Both teams possess high-octane offenses, but the Irish defense has been more consistent than that of the Trojans. Notre Dame at home should get the job done.
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