The 2023 Holiday Bowl will pit the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals (10-3) against the USC Trojans (7-5) on Wednesday and there will be some notable absences. Former Heisman Trophy winner and USC quarterback Caleb Williams has opted out and Louisville running back Jawhar Jordan is also skipping the game to prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft. However, both teams have capable and hungry backups stepping into those vacated roles with USC turning to Miller Moss and Louisville hoping that Isaac Guerendo can continue to produce as a starting running back.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif. The latest Louisville vs. USC odds have the Cardinals listed as 7-point favorites and the over/under is 59 points via SportsLine consensus. Before entering any USC vs. Louisville picks for the 2023 Holiday Bowl, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a strong profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It entered bowl season a profitable 13-9 on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Louisville vs. USC. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the USC vs. Louisville game:
- Louisville vs. USC spread: Louisville -7
- Louisville vs. USC over/under: 59 points
- Louisville vs. USC money line: Louisville -272, USC +221
- Louisville vs. USC picks: See picks here
- Louisville vs. USC live stream: fubo (try for free)
Why Louisville can cover
Both of these teams will be impacted by high-profile opt-outs, but Louisville will have quarterback Jack Plummer in action. The former Purdue and Cal starter threw for 3,063 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in his only season at Louisville.
Even more importantly, the Louisville defense hasn't been impacted significantly by the transfer portal or opt-outs after allowing just 19.7 points and 307.4 yards per game this season. Ashton Gillotte announced he'd return to Louisville next season after an 11-sack season and Devin Neal will also be in action after recording 67 tackles and intercepting four passes. See which team to pick here.
Why USC can cover
The Trojans were ranked No. 6 in the nation to begin the year and started the season with six consecutive wins before losing five of six down the stretch. With Williams out, they'll turn to Moss, who was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2021 who has been waiting patiently for a starting opportunity at USC.
Moss has only attempted 59 passes in his career but he's completing 72.9% of them and averaging 9.2 yards per pass attempt while throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also added a couple of rushing touchdowns this season and he'll be eager to prove that he should be the starter next season as USC transitions to the Big Ten. See which team to pick here.
How to make Louisville vs. USC picks
The model has simulated Louisville vs. USC 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in nearly 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins USC vs. Louisville, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the 2023 Holiday Bowl spread to jump on, all from the advanced computer model that's up well over $2,000 on its top-rated college football spread picks since its inception, and find out.
