The USC Trojans and the Colorado Buffaloes meet Saturday in college football action from Folsom Field. USC last played Arizona State over the weekend. The Trojans went on to win by a pair of touchdowns. As for Colorado, they’re coming off a matchup against Oregon. In that one the Buffaloes took a blowout loss. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

USC Trojans 

The Trojans’ season began with a 56-28 win over San Jose State, then came a 66-14 blowout win over Nevada. USC kept rolling in game three versus Stanford, cruising to another blowout victory 56-10. Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams finished with 281 pass yards and three scores in that one, while Brenden Rice led the receivers on a 75-yard TD catch. 

In the Arizona State game on Saturday, the Trojans scored points in every quarter (and gave up points in every quarter as well) on the way to a 42-28 win. Williams had 322 yards with three passing scores (and two rush TDs) in the victory. MarShawn Lloyd added 154 rushing yards and Rice led the receivers again on 133 yards and two touchdowns off seven grabs. 

USC Trojans Team Facts

USC has won each of its last 13 games against non-AP-ranked teams.
USC has failed to cover the spread in five of its last six road games against non-AP-ranked teams.
USC has won the first quarter in each of its last three games against conference opponents.
USC has won the first half in eight of its last 10 games against conference opponents.
Eleven of USC’s last 12 games have gone OVER the total points line.

Colorado Buffaloes

Over on the Buffaloes’ side, they were able to out-duel TCU 45-42 in a high-octane road win for their opener this year. Colorado followed that up with a 36-14 win over Nebraska and a 43-35 overtime victory versus Colorado State the next weekend. Shedeur Sanders posted 348 yards with four scores in the game three victory. 

Matched up against Oregon over the weekend, the Buffaloes were drilled 42-0 in the first three quarters over what eventually became a 42-6 loss. Sanders had 159 yards and one touchdown in the loss. Xavier Weaver led the receivers on 75 yards from nine catches and Anthony Hankerson rushed five times for 31 yards. 

Colorado Buffaloes Team Facts

Colorado has lost each of its last seven games against conference opponents.
Colorado has failed to cover the spread in seven of its last eight games against AP-ranked teams at Folsom Field.
Colorado has lost the first half in each of its last seven games against conference opponents.
Each of Colorado’s last four games against top-10 AP-ranked teams at Folsom Field have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Colorado suffered the equal-most losses by a margin of 10+ points of any FBS team last season (10).
Colorado suffered the most losses by a margin of 15+ points of any FBS team last season (10).
USC ranked 3rd among FBS teams for points per game last season (41.4).
USC ranked 4th among FBS teams for H2 points per game last season (19.9).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stick with USC. Probably not touching this one, though. The Trojans are coming off a solid road win versus Arizona State over the weekend. That said, USC has several areas for improvement. The Trojans committed 10 penalties for 85 yards in a sloppy game and went just 3-of-10 on third-down conversions during the victory. Still, there’s not much to complain about when it comes to USC’s performance so far; they’ve scored 42 or more points in all four games and 56 or more in three of them. 

As for Colorado, they’ll go from the frying pan to the fire in another tough matchup here. The Buffaloes gained just 199 yards against a tough Oregon defense in their last outing and committed 12 penalties for 106 yards in their blowout defeat. I like the Buffaloes to hang significantly more points on the board this time, but I don’t think they’ll cover.