Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs USC Trojans Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 11/30/24

Another chapter in the longstanding rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) and the USC Trojans (6-5) will unfold in southern California on Saturday afternoon. The Irish control their own destiny when it comes to the College Football Playoff, and the Trojans are in line to play “spoiler” as the home underdog in this matchup. For what it’s worth, Notre Dame has won 5 of the last 6 meetings against USC, but the Trojans were victorious the last time the Irish visited the LA Memorial Coliseum. 

Any way you slice it, the numbers point to Notre Dame in this matchup. However, at the current number, I am hesitant to lay points with the Fighting Irish for a couple reasons. First, this will be just their 3rd true road game. If you want to split hairs, it will be only their 2nd, as the Georgia Tech game was at Mercedes-Benz Stadium rather than Bobby Dodd Stadium on campus. Furthermore, the Irish have not traveled anywhere outside the eastern or central time zones yet this season. Another reason why I cannot get to this number is because of the level of competition that Notre Dame has played – particularly in the passing game. USC has arguably the best passing offense and group of receivers the Irish will have faced at any point this season, averaging exactly the same amount of passing yards per game as Louisville. Oddly enough, the Cardinals are the only team to surpass 20 points against the Notre Dame defense this season, as they scored 24 thanks to the play of Tyler Shough – who passed for 264 yards and 3 touchdowns on the road in South Bend as the only quarterback to throw multiple touchdown passes against Notre Dame this year. The Trojans have scored at least 28 points in all of their home games this season, and anything 28 or better should have them in great position to cover this spread at the very least. Give me the points with the home underdog playing with nothing to lose. 

Notre Dame vs USC prediction: USC Trojans +7.5 (-110) at the time of publishing. Playable to +7. 

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