USC Tojans

Expect bruising RB Allen Bradford to stomp over Hawaii.

With the college football season getting its start on Thursday, September 2, I’m looking to see if there are any good lines to take before we kick into gear with the NFL. Some lines are already out and I’m already doing some homework on them. The primetime game on Thursday will be Pitt (+3) vs. Utah, which I like Pitt in, but it’s not a strong play due to Pitt being on the road with a QB who is making his first start. I’m expecting Pitt’s D and Dion Lewis to get the job done for the Panthers though. Afterwards, we’ll see USC (-19) @ Hawaii on ESPN.

USC TROJANS -19 @ HAWAII WARRIORS

I’m not expecting USC to be as dominating as in year’s past due to the controversy that surrounded their team this past offseason. They’re prohibited from playing in a Bowl game for the next two years and they’re no longer being led by coaching mastermind Pete Carroll. You have to wonder how that will affect the team this season. One player that won’t affect is RB Allen Bradford who said, “the only way we’re going to be able to express ourselves is to win 13 games.”

USC has a history of beating the smack out of Hawaii. The last time they played was in 2005 and USC won 63-17, following their 2003 rout over Hawaii 63-31. However, with USC’s 1-8 record ATS on the road last season and a 4-9 overall record ATS, I’m hesitant to jump on the opportunity to take USC in this game. To show you how little coaches expect from USC this season, they’re not even listed in the top 25 in …

#3 USC TROJANS (10) -7 @ #6 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0)

Date: Saturday, September 12, 8:00 p.m. EST (ESPN)

It’s week 2 in college football and there’s already a blockbuster matchup between USC and Ohio State.  Ohio State is at home, but the Trojans are 7-point favorites in this one.

All eyes are focused on top recruit QB Terrell Pryor, who is entering his sophomore year hyped to be the “next Pat White.”  USC has lost a lot of talent  on defense this year (Ray Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Fili Moala, Cary Harris, Kevin Ellison and Kaluka Maiava).  However, USC still has the best safety in college football, Taylor Mays, who has the job of containing Terrell Pryor.

Ohio State barely escaped with a win against Navy at home, winning by a mere 4 points (31-27).  Pryor had an solid game passing.  Pryor threw for 174 yards,completing 67% of his passes, with 1 passing TD, 1 INT.  Pyor also  gained 30 yards and 1 TD on the ground on 6 rushing attempts.  Navy was able to rack up 342 yards that game though, 156 of them coming on ground.  If you like OSU in this one, you have to be concerned about Ohio St.’s defense against a tough USC running game.

USC, on the other hand, dismantled San Jose State (56-3) with 620 yards of offense and only giving up 121 yards and just 9 rushing yards.

Remember this name: Joe McKnight.  #4 for USC had 145 yards and 2 TDs on just 10 carries in the game.  He’ll be giving Ohio State a lot of problems.  Ohio St. has a very weak front 7 and they haven’t shown that they can stop the run.  …

What a suiting article for the 100th article here on THE PASS RUSH.  Here are my picks and predictions for the BCS Bowl games.  Here are my picks for the non-BCS Bow games.

ROSE BOWL: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. USC Trojans -13.5

I don’t know why the Illini are getting a lack of respect in this game.  I thought the spread should be USC -9.  I think Illinois is very capable of covering this one.  They were the team to top Ohio State and have impressive wins against Penn State and Wisconsin.  Their first game of the season was against should-be BSC Bowl contender Missouri, and they only lost that one by 4.  These teams match up pretty evenly.  Illinois has an average PF of 28.8, USC’s is 31.2.  Illinois has an average PA of 19.5, USC’s is 15.9.  Illinois’ 7-4 record against the spread is better than USC’s 6-6 record against the spread.  9/13 of the experts at covers.com are taking USC to cover, but I think the Trojans will win, but Illinois will cover.  Also keep in mind that USC has a huge advantage being in Pasadena.

Prediction – USC defeats Illinois – 34-24

USC Moneyline – Confidence 4/5
Illinois +13.5 Spread – Confidence 2/5

SUGAR BOWL: Hawaii Warriors vs. Georgia Bulldogs -7.5

When I first saw the Bowl games announced I was getting excited about this one because I expect the Bulldogs to stomp on the Warriors.  I thought the spread should be at least 10 points.  We all know about Hawaii’s offense, but they’ve been playing mickey-mouse defenses; they haven’t seen a defense like Georgia’s.  I don’t think Hawaii will know what hit them when they have to square off on January 1st.  Hawaii’s defense …