Written by Rohit Ghosh
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USC at Notre Dame: Odds, Preview & Analyst Pick

One of college football's most-storied rivalries takes center stage this weekend in South Bend, Indiana as Notre Dame hosts USC. The Trojans have lost this matchup the last two years, heading into Saturday as 3.5-point underdogs against another one-loss team. The total is set at 64.5.

Vegas Odds
There hasn't been much movement on the spread since the line opened at -4 for the Fighting Irish -- dropping a half-point to -3.5 in most books.

The total, however, has been pushed up quite a bit by the public over the last 48 hours. The total opened at 60.5, settling at 64.5 at the time of publication. The total has gone OVER in six of Notre Dame’s last eight games.

Betting Trends
-USC is 11-4 straight up (SU) in its last 15 games vs Notre Dame.
-The OVER is 6-1 in Notre Dame's last seven games on field turf.
-The OVER is 5-1 in Notre Dame's last six matchups against Pac 12 competition.
-The OVER is 5-1 in Fighting Irish last 6 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

What to Watch For
So far this season, Jones has eight TDs on 640 rushing yards. He's averaging about 6.3 yards per carry this season, having only been tackled for a loss seven times. Seven times in 102 carries -- that's pretty, pretty good.

Jones finished for 134 yards and 1 TD vs Notre Dame last season.

He's projected to finish with 59 yards on 9 carries, averaging the 6.3 ypc. He averages 0.7 TDs per sim.

Analyst's Pick

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