The Louisville Cardinals and the USC Trojans meet in college football action from Petco Park on Wednesday night. It’s the Holiday Bowl, who comes out on top? Let’s dive in and find out with our Louisville vs. USC Prediction.
Louisville Team Preview
The Louisville Cardinals come into this one with a record of 10-3 on the year. Some of the most notable wins came against Notre Dame, Duke, Virginia Tech, and Miami. Jack Plummer has thrown for 3,063 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 63.5% passing while Jawhar Jordan has a team-high 1,128 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, but is opting-out of this game in preparation for the NFL draft, leaving Isaac Guerendo as the lead back after rushing for 649 yards and 8 TDs. Jamari Thrash has a team-high 63 receptions for 858 yards and 6 touchdowns, but is also opting out for the NFL draft. Three more Cardinals have 300+ receiving yards, while another pair have 200+ receiving yards and another four Cardinals have 100+ receiving yards. On defense, TJ Quinn has a team-high 86 total tackles while Ashton Gillotte has a team-high 11 sacks and Devin Neal has 4 interceptions. As a unit, Louisville’s defense has combined for 34 sacks and 12 interceptions this season.
Louisville Cardinals Team Facts
- The underdog has won each of Louisville’s last three games.
- The underdog has covered the spread in each of Louisville’s last four games.
- Louisville has won the first quarter in seven of its last eight games against non-conference opponents.
- Louisville has won the first half in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.
- Eight of Louisville’s last nine games against non-conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
USC Team Preview
The USC Trojans come into the bowl game with a record of 7-5 in the Pac-12 standings, a far cry from a team that had national playoff intentions coming into the year. The Trojans would normally be led by Caleb Williams, MarShawn Lloyd and Brenden Rice on the offensive side of the ball, but all three have opted out, likely in preparation of the NFL draft while a lot of USC’s depth pieces are in the transfer portal as well. Expect to see Miller Moss at QB for the Trojans, while Austin Jones is expected to go after rushing for 417 yards in the regular season and leading receiver Tahj Washington hasn’t popped up on any news outlets for going into the portal or opting out as well. Leading tackler Mason Cobb is also expected to go after logging 77 tackles in the regular season, as are Jalil Muhammad and Solomon Byrd, who shared the team lead with 6 sacks as well this season.
USC Trojans Team Facts
- USC has lost each of its last nine games as an underdog against AP-ranked teams.
- USC has failed to cover the spread in each of its last 10 games against AP-ranked teams at neutral venues.
- USC has won the first quarter in five of its last six games against non-conference opponents.
- USC has won the first half in six of its last seven games against non-conference opponents.
- Nine of USC’s last 10 games against AP-ranked teams have gone OVER the total points line.
Louisville vs. USC Prediction
I’m going to stick with USC and the points here. The amount of opt-outs and players not appearing in this game for USC is staggering, but the Trojans have a ton of depth from hitting the transfer portal in the past themselves, and it’s not like all of these guys haven’t seen some form of playing time or are eager to prove themselves in anticipation of fighting for a spot on next year’s team. Louisville is solid, but I think the loss of thrash and Jordan for the Louisville offense is going to be a lot to overcome here and as such, I think the Trojans hold some value here. Give me USC and the points.
