College Football Betting Preview
 #1 USC at #14 Nebraska
Saturday, 8:00 pm Eastern – ABC

Opening Line: USC -9.5, Total 50

 

The #1 ranked USC Trojans head to Nebraska on Saturday to face the 14th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.  A #1 team has not played at Nebraska since Oklahoma visited in 1978. "Everybody's saying this is the biggest weekend in Lincoln ever, and that Hollywood's coming to town," Nebraska safety Ben Eisenhart said. 
 

The Trojans are now the team in college football that Nebraska used to be.  USC won the national championship in 2004 after splitting it with LSU in 2003 and is the favorite again this season.  Nebraska is the last team to win the National Championship outright in two straight years, in 1994 and 1995.

A win against USC would thrust Nebraska back into national contention and back onto the national stage. "I think the game against SC is pretty well established, pretty well talked about in our part of the country," head coach Bill Callahan said. "We're going to have to have our best effort on Saturday night."

 

USC had a bye last week after opening up the season with an unimpressive 38-10 win over Idaho. "There's a lot of areas we can do better on," USC head coach Pete Carroll said. "I didn't think that we took advantage of our really nice opportunities. We had some shots at guys and didn't hit them. ... I'm pleased to get this first game behind us."

Current Line: USC -9.5, Total 51

 

The key for Nebraska on Saturday will be how well quarterback Sam Keller and the offense do against the USC defense. Keller transferred from Arizona State last year and has played twice against the Trojans but played poorly both times.  This season Keller has completed 38 of 66 passes for 451 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in wins against Nevada and Wake Forest.  On the other side of the field is Heisman Trophy candidate John David Booty who threw for three touchdowns in three quarters against Idaho going 21-of-32 for 206 yards with an interception.  Last season Booty was 25-of-36 for 257 yards and three touchdowns in USC's 28-10 home win over the Cornhuskers. The Trojans lead the all-time series 2-0-1, and won 31-21 in their only visit to Lincoln in 1969.

 

Here are the betting statistics for Saturday’s game.  The Trojans are 4-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The Trojans are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games. The Trojans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road favorite.

 

The Cornhuskers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games. The Cornhuskers are 18-2-1 ATS in their last 21 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

 

The Under is 5-1 in the Trojans last 6 games as a favorite. The Over is 8-3 in the Trojans last 11 non-conference games. The Under is 5-2 in the Trojans last 7 games overall. The Under is 4-0 in the Cornhuskers last 4 games as an underdog. The Over is 10-1 in the Cornhuskers last 11 home games. The Under is 15-6 in the Cornhuskers last 21 non-conference games.