The No. 7 USC Trojans look to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive in a cross-town showdown with the No. 16 UCLA Bruins on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. USC enters 9-1 off a 55-17 blowout home win over Colorado, while UCLA, 8-2, lost shockingly to Arizona at home, 34-28 to derail their final four aspirations. USC advances to the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win, while UCLA needs to win their final two games (including next week at Cal) to play for a conference title. The last matchup in 2021 was dominated by the road team Bruins, who routed the Trojans, 62-33. The Bruins are 6-3 against the spread, while the Trojans are 6-4 ATS in 2022.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. The Trojans are favored by 2 points in the latest USC vs. UCLA odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over/under is set at 76.5. Before making any UCLA vs. USC picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions and betting advice from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past six-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on UCLA vs. USC and just locked in its picks and CFB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several college football odds and betting lines for UCLA vs. USC:
- UCLA vs. USC spread: USC -2
- UCLA vs. USC over/under: 76.5 points
- UCLA vs. USC money line: USC -120, UCLA +100
- UCLA vs. USC picks: See picks here
What you need to know about USC
The Trojans crushed Colorado as expected, but the game came with serious consequences as starting running back Travis Dye was ruled out for the season with a serious leg injury. The Oregon transfer led USC in rushing with 884 yards and nine touchdowns on 145 carries. Without Dye, the Trojans will have to lean more on QB Caleb Williams, who has been so good this season that an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December seems likely. Williams has thrown for 31 touchdowns and rushed for six, with 3,010 yards passing and 283 yards rushing to his credit. Even more remarkably, the Oklahoma transfer has only thrown two interceptions on the season, including one last week.
Though he only caught one pass for two yards, the Trojans were no doubt very glad to welcome back reigning Biletnikoff Award winning wide receiver Jordan Addison, who missed games against Arizona and California due to injury. The Pitt transfer has 40 catches for 587 yards and seven scores this season and leads arguably one of the most talented receiving units in the country. If USC wins out, beating the likes of UCLA, Notre Dame, and whoever they'd meet in the Pac-12 Championship Game, the Trojans will have a major case to be included as one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff.
What you need to know about UCLA
UCLA stunningly blew a chance to keep their slim national championship hopes alive by losing as nearly a three touchdown favorite at home to an Arizona team which had been on a four game losing streak. From the start, the Wildcats seized the momentum and the Bruins generally were playing catch up all night. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson played well in throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown, a 51 yard score to TE Hudson Habermehl. But for a QB averaging more than six yard per attempt heading into the game, 'DTR' was held to only 11 rushes for 24 yards by the Wildcats defense. Despite the loss, Thompson-Robinson will be a strong candidate for postseason All Pac-12 teams with 2,385 yards passing and 20 scores while rushing for 463 yards and seven touchdowns to date.
The Bruins' star on Saturday was running back Zach Charbonnet, who rushed 24 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns. The senior running back has been one of the better running backs in the country this season despite missing two games due to injury. He's rushed for 1,145 yards and 13 touchdowns on only 152 carries. Last year in this matchup, Charbonnet rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries and to defeat the Trojans this time around, a similar performance might be necessary. USC ranks among the middle of the pack nationally surrendering 141.5 yards rushing per game.
How to make USC vs. UCLA picks
The model has simulated USC vs. UCLA 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under on the point total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in more than 50% of simulations. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins the USC vs. UCLA matchup? And which side of the spread holds hits more than 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the USC vs. UCLA spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that finished the past six-plus years up almost $3,000 on its FBS college football picks, and find out.
