NCAA Football
2006-11-18 - California Bears at USC Trojans
A Sports Betting Pick by Gooner
BACKGROUND
Similar to the MI-OSU match-up, this game also has huge BCS implications.
Yes, this game lost a little sizzle after Cal was upset by Arizona last Saturday, but any time offensive guru Jeff Tedford and defensive mastermind Pete Carroll match wits, you’ve got a must-see sporting event.
If the Trojans can win out, they will almost certainly play in the BCS championship game.
THE BOOKMAKERS
Here is what the experts at StatShark think ...
And at PinnacleSports the Golden Bears opened at +3.5 -105, and USC backers quickly bet this up. The line spiked as high as -6.5 -105 before California money started flowing.
While the sharps have not played this game, the public has favored USC by a 3:1 margin.
OUR VIEW
The Golden Bears are one of the few teams in America that possess the offensive speed and diversity to make the USC defense look bad.
In RB Marshawn Lynch and WR DeSean Jackson, Cal has a pair of premier game-breakers that the locals are used to seeing, and the nation will get a full view of them in prime time.
But, ever since the final quarter of the Oregon State game, USC has looked like the Trojans of old. John David Booty has been hot, the defense has allowed just ten points in nine quarters and even hibernating DE Lawrence Jackson got in the act with his first three sacks of 2006.
USC may not be all the way back, but it’s evident the team has responded to its Corvallis wake-up call with some of its sharpest performances of the year.
THE VERDICT
It’s November. USC Coach Pete Carroll doesn’t lose in November.
Ever.
He’s 18-0 in the month since taking over the USC program, the sign of a coach that gets his team to peak when games matter most.
The Pick :
USC 34 - 24 California
