USC vs. Utah College Football Betting
The USC Trojans will play the Tulane Green Wave in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Monday, January 2, 2023. The Trojans were hoping for a lot more than to be playing in the Cotton Bowl, as they had national title hopes but a loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game ended those hopes. Now the Trojans will have to find a way to get motivated to play Tulane on January 2. Another key for USC will be the status of quarterback Caleb Williams. He is recovering from a hamstring injury but he said he is hoping to play. USC comes into this game at 11-2 SU and 8-5 ATS with 10 games going over the total and three going under, while Tulane is 11-2 SU and 11-2 ATS with seven games going over the total and six going under. The Trojans are listed as a slight favorite in Cotton Bowl odds.
NCAA Football Betting Odds
Tulane Green Wave +2.5
USC Trojans -2.5
Total 63.5
USC Trojans Weekly Matchup
On Monday, January 2, 2023, the USC Trojans play the Tulane Green Wave in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff time is set for 1:00 p.m. ET with television coverage on ESPN.
The Trojans are hoping that Williams can play in the Cotton Bowl, but that decision likely won’t be made until very close to gameday. “It would take a lot to keep me out,” Williams said to the media. Head coach Lincoln Riley said the team will see how Williams progresses. “Hamstrings are different for everybody, but the nature of his is pretty severe,” Riley said to the media, "... We will see how it progresses. We obviously hope to have him. He’s a warrior.” The Trojans will not have center Brett Neilon who is out due to injury and there could be other players, including Jordan Addison who decide not to play to prepare for the NFL Draft.
The Trojans will have to find a way to stop Tulane junior running back Tyjae Spears who had 1,373 rushing yards and 17 total touchdowns this season. The Trojans gave up a season-high 223 rushing yards in its Pac-12 title loss to Utah.
USC is averaging 42.1 points per game which is 3rd in the country and they are putting up 499.8 yards per contest. They are giving up 27.9 points and allowing 415.1 yards per game. Travis Dye leads the team with 884 rushing yards, but he is out for the season due to injury; Caleb Williams has thrown for 4,075 yards, while Jordan Addison has 875 receiving yards.
Tulane is averaging 35.2 points per game and averaging 433.9 yards per contest. They are giving up 20.5 points per contest and allowing 342.4 yards per game. As noted earlier, Tyjae Spears has 1,373 rushing yards. Michael Pratt has thrown for 2,776 yards, while Shae Wyatt has 692 receiving yards.
USC Trojans Weekly Recap
In the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, December 2 in Las Vegas, Utah easily defeated Southern California 47-24, eliminating the Trojans' hopes of making the College Football Playoff. Cameron Rising completed passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns.
Utah won the Pac-12 title for the second consecutive year with the help of a second-quarter comeback and a dominant defensive effort over the game's last three quarters. Utah handed USC its lone other loss of the season on October 15 in Salt Lake City.
Less than three minutes into the second period, USC surged out to a 17-3 lead and seemed like they were going to win easily. The opening quarter of the game saw Heisman Trophy-contending quarterback Caleb Williams complete two drives that the Trojans extended with fourth-down conversions with touchdown passes of 2 yards to Tahj Washington and 3 yards to Raleek Brown.
Utah limited USC to 1-for-12 on third-down tries, and early in the fourth quarter they gave up the lone successful third-down convert. Mohamoud Diabate and Gabe Reid each recorded two of the seven sacks that the Utah defense managed to inflict on Williams. Additionally, the Utes made 11 tackles for a loss, contributing to Utah's success in holding USC to only 56 rushing yards.
Ja'Quinden Jackson of Utah and Micah Bernard of USC each earned more rushing yards on an individual basis than USC did as a team; Jackson gained 105 and Bernard gained 88. Late in the second quarter, Jackson scored the first of his two touchdowns for the night and the first of Utah's. After a stop on the opposing side, Rising directed the Utes on a 14-play, 81-yard drive that took only 1:38 to complete and ended with Rising connecting with Jaylen Dixon for a game-tying, 4-yard touchdown throw just before halftime.
When Rising connected with Money Parks for a 57-yard touchdown coming out of halftime, the game's momentum was completely changed. Early in the fourth quarter, Caleb Williams, who completed 363 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns, connected with Mario Williams for his final score to bring USC within 27-24. The rest was all Utah.
Jackson carried for 53 yards for his second touchdown, Thomas Yassmin broke through several tackles enroute to a 60-yard touchdown reception, and Bernard added the final exclamation point with a 23-yard run.
Utah outgained USC by 533 yards to 419.
2022 USC Trojans Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Sep 3 |
vs. Rice |
W 66-14 |
1-0 |
| Sep 10 |
at Stanford |
W 41-28 |
2-0 |
| Sep 17 |
vs. Fresno State |
W 45-17 |
3-0 |
| Sep 24 |
at Oregon State |
W 17-14 |
4-0 |
| Oct 1 |
vs. Arizona State |
W 42-25 |
5-0 |
| Oct 8 |
vs. Washington State |
W 30-14 |
6-0 |
| Oct 15 |
at Utah |
L 42-43 |
6-1 |
| Oct 22 |
OFF |
| Oct 29 |
at Arizona |
W 45-37 |
7-1 |
| Nov 5 |
vs. California |
W 41-35 |
8-1 |
| Nov 11 |
vs. Colorado |
W 55-17 |
9-1 |
| Nov 19 |
at UCLA |
W 48-45 |
10-1 |
| Nov 26 |
vs. Notre Dame |
W 38-27 |
11-1 |
| Dec 2 |
vs. Utah (Pac 12 Championship) |
L 24-47 |
11-2 |
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