College Football

USC vs San Jose State 9/4/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions

San Jose State Spartans (1-0) vs. USC Trojans (0-0)
September 4, 2021 5:00 pm EDT
The Line: USC Trojans -14 / San Jose State Spartans +14; Over/Under: 57.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The USC Trojans meet the San Jose State Spartans in week 1 college football action from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

The San Jose State Spartans will look to build on their 45-14 win over Southern Utah from week 0 action to start the season. Nick Starkel threw for 394 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception on 16 of 27 passing while Tyler Nevens had 12 carries for 91 yards and a score and Starkel called his own number, rushing in for a touchdown of his own in the win. Charles Ross had 3 grabs for 77 yards and a score while Derrick Deese Jr. also had 3 receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown. Sam Olson and Jermaine Braddock each had a touchdown reception as well with Olson’s lone catch going for a 70-yard scamper. Isaiah Hamilton also had 57 receiving yards. Defensively, Kyle Harmon led the Spartans with 9 total tackles including a team-high 4 solo tackles while Josh Gomez had San Jose State’s lone sack as a team in the win.

The USC Trojans will look to take that final step forward in 2021 after finishing 2020 at 5-1, ultimately losing in the Pac-12 championship game to Oregon. Kedon Slovis comes back as USC’s leader under center once again, but he will have to get help from his line after being sacked 2.5 times per game last season. Vavae Malepeai will remain the lead back for the Trojans, but with the next two leading rushers from last year’s squad gone, it’s up to Keontay Ingram to help the cause after transferring in from Texas. Drake London returns to lead USC’s receiving group with 33 catches for 502 yards while Bru McCoy is back as well after finishing 4th on the team in receptions. KD Nixon and Tahj Washington transfer in to find big roles in this USC offense while John Jackson III will be used more and Erik Krommenhoek is a strong option at tight end with tremendous upside. Defensively, Nick Figueroa is back up front after leading the Trojans in sacks and tackles for loss while Drake Jackson will serve USC as a key linebacker/defensive end hybrid. Kana’I Mauga is back after finishing second on the team with 41 tackles while Ralen Goforth is back at starting middle linebacker. In the secondary, Isaiah Pola-Malo is back at safety while Chris Steele and Isaac Taylor-Stuart make up one of the more formidable corner duos in the Pac-12. As a team, USC averaged 33.3 PPG while allowing 26 PPG last season.

San Jose State is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games played in September and 5-0-1 ATS in their last 6 games played on a Saturday while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 games overall. USC is 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games played in September and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games played on Saturday while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 games as a favorite.

I get the case that could be made for the Spartans with the points as Nick Starkel’s rediscovered himself at SJSU and the Spartans picked up where they left off in week 0. However, the Trojans took a big step forward in 2020 and are as good as they’ve been in some time. I think two touchdowns is showing just a bit too much respect to the Spartans for right now, so I’ll lay the points with the Trojans in this one.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: USC -14

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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