Washington State vs USC 9/18/21 College Football Picks, Odds, Predictions
USC Trojans (1-1) vs. Washington State Cougars (1-1)
September 18, 2021 3:30 pm EDT
The Line: Washington State Cougars +10 ; Over/Under: 61.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Washington State Cougars meet the USC Trojans Saturday in week 3 college football action from Martin Stadium. USC is coming off a matchup versus Stanford. In that one, the Trojans took a 14-point defeat. As for Washington State, they played Portland State this past weekend. The Cougars posted a 20-point win in that game. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
USC opened up the 2021 season versus San Jose State, taking a nice 30-7 victory. Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis put up 256 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-36 passing. Keaontay Ingram added 86 yards on 15 carries and Drake London had 137 receiving yards.
In game two versus Stanford, USC fell behind 21-10 at halftime and couldn’t make up the gap in a 42-28 defeat. Slovis logged 223 yards with one TD and one interception in the loss, and Vavae Malepeai had 74 yards on 14 carries to lead the rushers.
Over on the Washington State side, they took a tough loss versus Utah State in their opener, falling 26-23 after a 15-3 fourth quarter. Cougars QB Jayden de Laura had 155 yards with one touchdown, and Max Borghi led the rush with 86 yards and a score off 11 carries.
Washington State’s second game came against Portland State. The Cougars jumped out to a 28-10 lead at the break and cruised from there in an eventual 44-24 win. QB de Laura had 303 yards with three scores, and Deon McIntosh was the top rusher on 64 yards and a TD.
The Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last five on turf and 5-2-1 ATS in their last eight after an ATS loss. USC is also 5-13 ATS in their last 18 in September.
Meanwhile, the Cougars are 1-5 ATS in their last six conference games and 1-7 ATS in their last eight after a straight-up win. Washington State is also 0-5 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss.
PICK: I’m going with Washington State. The Cougars had their offense working well in week two, posting 462 total yards (303 passing) with 27 first downs, one turnover and four punts. Washington State did give up 318 passing yards and 5.5 yards per play on the other side, however.
As for USC, they out-gained Stanford 408 to 375 but also gave up 7.1 yards per play and only forced three punts. The good news is that the Trojans had just one turnover and held the ball for 38:00, but I still think Washington State has the cover edge in this one.
