Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

Overview:

On Saturday, November 26th, at 3:30 P.M. the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be on the road to take on the USC Trojans.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of USC 35.8 – Notre Dame 23.6 with an over/under of 59.4.  The Vegas Line has a final score of USC 37.8 – Notre Dame 20.3 with an over/under of 58.0.

2016-17 Statistics (127 total teams):

Passing offense: USC 266.8 YPG > Notre Dame 254.3 YPG

Rushing offense: USC 207.3 YPG > Notre Dame 164.2 YPG

Scoring offense: USC 31.8 > Notre Dame 31.3 PPG

Scoring defense: USC 21.7 PPG > Notre Dame 26.3 PPG

Passing defense: Notre Dame 195.6 YPG > USC 222.7 YPG

Rushing defense: USC 131.8 YPG > Notre Dame 180.2 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: USC -0.3 = Notre Dame -0.3

Strength of schedule:

USC is (8-3) with wins over Utah State, Arizona State, Colorado, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA.  They were defeated by Alabama, Stanford, and Utah.  Notre Dame is (4-7) with wins over Nevada, Syracuse, Miami, and Army.  Their losses came against Texas, Michigan State, Duke, NC State, Stanford, Navy, and Virginia Tech.

Summary:

After losing three of their first four games USC has rebounded to win seven straight.  They might be the hottest team in college football right now and are clearly playing like a top ten squad.  In their current seven game winning streak USC is averaging over 37 points per game.  Notre Dame is suffering a miserable season under head coach Brian Kelly.  There is controversy surrounding the Notre Dame program now that allegations of illegal recruiting have been brought forth.  USC’s season turned around when Sam Darnold took over at quarterback and they have only lost once with him starting.  Notre Dame’s defense has been shaky at times so look for USC to take full advantage.  Notre Dame still has one of the best quarterbacks in the country in DeShone Kizer who should be able to pile up big yardage against an iffy USC secondary.  Ultimately I like USC to win by double digits at home.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s episode features an in-depth discussion with Frank Isola of New York Daily News.

Note:

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