Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

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

Overview:

On Monday, January 2nd, at 5:00 P.M. the USC Trojans will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of USC 31.1 – Penn State 25.6 with an over/under of 56.6.

2016-17 Statistics (127 total teams):

Passing offense: USC 261.7 YPG > Penn State 261.2 YPG

Rushing offense: USC 207.3 YPG > Penn State 168.8 YPG

Scoring offense: Penn State 36.7 PPG > USC 32.9 PPG

Scoring defense: USC 22.2 PPG > Penn State 23.4 PPG

Passing defense: Penn State 198.5 YPG > USC 225.3 YPG

Rushing defense: USC 133.7 YPG > Penn State 153.5 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Penn State +0.2 > USC -0.2

Strength of schedule:

USC is (9-3) with wins over Utah State, Arizona State, Colorado, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and Notre Dame.  They were defeated by Alabama, Stanford, and Utah.  Penn State is (11-2) with wins over Kent State, Temple, Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State, and Wisconsin.  They lost to Pittsburgh and Michigan.

Summary:

After suffering a few embarrassing defeats early, USC completely turned their season around when Sam Darnold took over at quarterback.  The Trojans were (8-1) when Darnold started and their offense averaged 37.1 points per game in that span.  Meanwhile, Penn State won their final nine games averaging 40.1 points per game.  I expect a high scoring affair because both offenses are playing lights out right now.  USC has the slight advantage statistically but these teams are very even on paper.  I think USC is the more balanced team on both sides of the ball and have more elite playmakers.  I like the Trojans to win in a shoot-out.

**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 about the return of Tiger Woods with golf pro Jason Birnbaum.

Note:

To be eligible to enter a Crowd’s Line contest you must be over 18 years of age, a resident of the United States/Canada, and submit your score prediction on our prediction tool (blog widget). The winner will be selected according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology.  If more than one entrant has the same winning score the winner will be selected by random drawing.  Only one prize will be awarded per contest and that winner will receive their prize in 5-7 business days.