Utah State vs USC Prediction, Picks and Best Bets | College Football Picks Week 2

C just upset LSU and they have a huge look ahead game at Michigan coming up next is this a flat spot against Utah State or are they just too much to handle and they're going to overpower the Aggies I've got the answer in fact I've got both the side and total for you in this late night Saturday game 11 p.m. Eastern Saturday night your late night special make some money with it that free analysis coming up with side and total in just a moment hi this is Steve Merl wagertalk.com right back here on wager talk TV and we're breaking down your last game for Saturday night September the 7th Utah State at USC 11:00 p.m. Eastern on the Big 10 Network what Big 10 Network well yeah USC is in the Big 10 now and they do have a huge look ahead to their conference opener their first Big 10 game coming up against Michigan next but it's in two weeks on the 21st there's a buy next week so I do think us USC comes in Focus here and it's also the home opener because that LSU game of course last week was a neutral field in Las Vegas so despite the fact this is kind of a sandwich situation they're going to be under dog and then sandwich is a four touchdown favorite in between I don't think it's a let down spot in fact I think the upset win last week against al was a motivator for USC they upset Louisville in the bowl game as a five-point dog last year putting up 42 points and then they came right back in and won outright as a four-point dog against LSU now the game stayed under the total I'd mentioned LSU and USC were 22 and4 combined over last season and a lot of sharp money hammered the over I agreed with it it went up several points I mentioned it in my video last week but the scoreless first quarter really did a in and that happens sometimes because offenses in college football especially week one sometimes are a little bit slow out of the gate but the teams didn't combine for 47 points the last three quarters both LSU and USC threw for over 300 yards each so I'm not about to say that this USC defense is vastly improved we'll find out here in the next few weeks so I think the over is worth a look so I like USC and the over in this game now unfortunately the early sharp money agreed with USC if you check the wager talk live odd screen you'll see it open 27 and then got bet up quickly earlier this week to 282 even 29 so I like USC more at 28 or less so keep an eye on this line we'll see if maybe it drops in some locations during the week and this is a late kickoff Saturday night at 11: Eastern maybe you'll find some 28s if you get minus 28 or less take a look at USC but they are my preferred side here in weeks one two even three I always like to lay the big numbers we had a lot of success doing that last week I gave you free play videos here on both Alabama and Texas hugee five touchdown favor and they both shut out their opponents and covered easily it's an angle we look to use for several reasons first of all early in the season as I mentioned practice is at a premium there's no preseason the better teams the more talented teams have an edge and there's also plenty of motivation for Lincoln Riley to blow teams out after a disappointing season last year this is the home opener and while betting's not legal in California keep in mind 30 some states now have legal sports betting the last few years so I do think there's even more incentive for point spread covers by coaches as big F favorites because more Lums are betting on games the public the point spread is more public than ever it's acceptable it's a little hidden under the radar factor I think that helps these big favorites continue to cover so I do like USC it's the only way I would play the side but I like it better at 28 or less to shop around this week but as far as the total it opened 61 early this week bet up to 63 even 63 and a half I agree with that money move on the over 63 USC and LSU did play an under last week and the defenses did look improved but that's you know not saying much USC was terrible defensive team last year um and they really have been for a few seasons now in fact last year they gave up 34 points a game 29 and 32 the two years before that and on the surface it might not be impressive what Utah state did last week scoring only 36 points as a 35-point favored against an outman Robert Morris Squad uh but keep in mind they really were better than their 36o output um they had over 600 yards of offense over 300 passing and rushing very balanced attack and that was with l losing their starting quarterback but that also misleading petris went out in the game after 15 pass attempts Barnes the backup comes in he's a Utah transfer and USC actually played against him last season when USC lost as a favorite to Utah so they're very familiar with Barnes um but he did have success against them in the past so I like USC I think they know Barnes if he is the starter we'll keep it on the quarterback situation but regardless Utah state looks like they are capable of moving the ball maybe getting a back door as well and of course some back back door garbage points so USC 28 or less I think is the preferred side and over 63 is the preferred total in this game as USC's defense does look improved but their offense is loaded still and Miller Moss had another nice game after that great Bowl debut uh with what was it six touchdown passes last year against Louisville Moss had another good showing this past week against LSU and LSU's defense did look improved as well Moss 27 for 36 378 yards only one touchdown but no interceptions I'll look for big numbers from moss in the USC offense this week so once again lean LS uh lean USC lean the over hey team total over might be worth a look as well um so USC team total if you have access to those might be the best way to play this game late on Saturday night that's your late night game on the Big 10 Network at 11 Eastern Saturday tons of other college football this Saturday got off to a nice start last week on Saturday in fact we had a tough bad beat push as we had Kentucky up 31 nothing that's another big favorite third quarter they're covering already and the game gets canceled after the third quarter are just cut short so it's technically a push even though that was going to be a win uh so very frustrating there so even with that bad beat by the way we had Oklahoma on Friday night another blowout winner as a 42-point favorite so once again if you're going to play the side here it's USC or pass for me is I like these big favorites early and it's an angle it's worked really well I do worry that Utah state has a little bit of back door cover potential so we can hedge it a little bit with that over 63 or once again probably the best option is USC team total over and um that once again I'm probably going to be around the projected score in this game uh with a 28 and 63 point spread by the way if you're new to betting the way you do that you subtract the point spread from the total 63- 28 is 35 divided in half that's 17 and a half would be a projected team total for Utah State and then about 352 for USC would get you there um on the team totals actually nope I did that math wrong because I don't have my calcinator in front of me 63 - 30 33 and it would be 172 plus 30 would be about 47 so about 452 and 17 A2 are the projected team totals I'm doing this video earlier in the week we don't have Team totals available yet but that's how you can figure out what they should be you just subtract the point spread from the total divide in half that gives you the underdog you add the spread back that gives you the favorite uh so once again USC a big team total is going to be in the 40s uh but I think they get there in this game on Saturday night hey comment below what are your thoughts on this late night game between Utah State and USC what other games do you like this Saturday in college football it's a huge week 2 card don't forget NFL Week 1 Sunday is here as well hey not a 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also free baseball and football plays every day on my page games are just a bit outside for making the cut strong free opinions for you as well daily at wagertalk.com comment below let me know your thoughts on this Utah State USC game other games you like on Saturday thumbs up like the video when you subscribe click the bell for inst alert so you know when these free play videos go live each every week for baseball college football NFL I did free play videos for all the sports this week also my college football top 25 video every week on Thursday into Friday and of course NFL fade the public is up Friday night into the weekend for this week one Sunday don't miss that NFL fade the public week one click the Bell so you get an instant alert and be the first to watch here on wager talk TV follow me on X on Twitter at Steve Marl 2 rs1 L Steve Marl on X and Instagram and stay tuned right here to wager talk TV for some more great free betting content coming up next