USC vs. Arizona State College Football Week 10 Picks and Predictions (Archive)
Important game from the Pac-12 Conference’s South Division late Saturday night as unranked Southern Cal visits unranked Arizona State. Which way to lean at BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks?
USC Trojans vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
Saturday, November 06, 2021 – 10:30 PM EDT at Sun Devil Stadium
The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff makes this the latest Power 5 game on Saturday’s college football schedule and ESPN has the telecast. Utah leads the Pac-12 South Division with a 4-1 record, but both Arizona State (3-2 in the league) and USC (3-3) are still alive to win it. Southern Cal can forget about it with a loss in this one, however.
USC is 24-13 all-time vs. Arizona State, although a Trojans road win in 2005 was vacated due to an NCAA penalty. Last year, Southern Cal was an 11.5-point home favorite at BMR’s top-rated books and won 28-27. The Sun Devils led 27-14 with less than three minutes left. USC quarterback Kedon Slovis hit Bru McCoy on a 26-yard TD pass with 2:52 to go and USC was successful in recovering an onside kick. Slovis would then hit Drake London on a 21-yard TD pass with 1:20 left for the winning points.
The 13-point fourth-quarter deficit was the largest that the Trojans overcame to win since a 14-point comeback against Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl and it was USC’s first one-point victory against anyone since beating Arizona State in 2010.
The road team is 3-0-1 against the spread on NCAAF picks in the past four meetings.
Season Over for Trojans Star
USC is of course currently being run by interim coach Donte Williams after Clay Helton was fired early this season. Most people believe Penn State’s James Franklin will be the next full-time coach. He was among the betting favorites on that prop at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
The Trojans (4-4 overall) nearly suffered one of their most embarrassing losses ever this past Saturday, escaping at home against a horrendous Arizona team, 41-34. The Wildcats entered on a 19-game losing streak, the longest active in the FBS.
USC junior running back Keaontay Ingram ran for a career-high 204 yards with a touchdown on 27 carries. The Trojans are splitting time at quarterback between Jaxson Dart and Kedon Slovis. Dart was 12-for-18 for 109 yards and two scores, and Slovis was 15-for-21 for 204 yards, two scores, and a pick.
Superstar receiver Drake London, who is USC’s best player, caught nine passes for 81 yards and two scores but unfortunately suffered a season-ending fractured ankle on that second TD catch. London ranks third in the nation with 1,084 yards, second with 88 catches, and tied for 14th with seven TD grabs. Via Pro Football Focus, London had an NCAA-best receiver grade of 91.3 along with 19 contested catches and 22 forced missed tackles, both first nationally. A team captain, he’ll be a first-round NFL draft pick next year.
"In those eight games he played, all the awards you can think of he deserves, whether it’s the Biletnikoff, whether it’s first-team All-American. The things he did for this team and this university, he was about to put up one of the best statistical seasons any receiver has ever put up in college football, and that’s saying a lot. At the same time, yes, we’re going to miss him as a player, but the things that people forget about is who he is as a person to this team," Williams said. "He’s a team captain for a reason."
Southern Cal is 5-15 against the spread on the NCAAF picks in its past 20 as a road dog.
Ugly Loss for Sun Devils
Arizona State (5-3) has lost back-to-back games to lose control of its own destiny to win the Big Ten East. The Sun Devils were upset 34-21 at home by a mediocre Washington State team on Saturday. The Cougars forced five ASU turnovers and converted them into 24 points. Arizona State gave it away on each of its first three drives even coming off a bye week. Wazzu led 28-7 at the half.
Jayden Daniels threw for 228 yards on 23-of-35 with one touchdown but had two interceptions. Backup QB Trenton Bourguet led the offense to a touchdown on its last drive after relieving Daniels for mop-up duty, but Daniels remains the starter.
Junior running back Rachaad White missed the game with an undisclosed injury. He leads the team with 86 carries, 477 yards, and nine TDs. White should play here. Receiver Johnny Wilson also was out injured. He has 12 catches for 154 yards and a TD and also is trending toward a return.
“We did not play well. Opening this game up in the first half we didn’t play very well on either side of the ball. The takeaway I take from it is obviously the turnovers and miscues. Five turnovers are way too many and defensively they beat us on the 50-50 ball, they threw it up, they caught it. We had some opportunities to catch some balls and we didn’t. It became one of those games where all of the sudden they got up early and we were playing catch-up football and that’s always hard to do,” Coach Herm Edwards said. “We have a lot of fixing to do.”
ASU’s streak of rushing for 148 or more yards in 11 straight games dating back to 2020 came to an end with 131 yards on the ground. Arizona State was able to force just one turnover by Washington State but the Sun Devils have forced 47 turnovers in their past 19 games dating to 2019, second-most nationally. ASU is ninth in the FBS in allowing just 7.8 second-half points per game against its FBS opponents.
The Sun Devils are 5-0 against the spread on the NCAAF odds in their past five following a double-digit home loss. I think they win by double digits here because USC lost Drake London.
NCAAF Pick: Arizona State at -8 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.