The news
USC is the most popular bet at the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas. They’ve improved their odds the longer new head coach Lincoln Riley’s been in charge. They were 40 – 1, now they’re 25 – 1. The sixth best odds to win it all.
According to Ed Salmons, veteran oddsmaker for the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, the hype for the Trojans likely will only increase.
“If they go out and roll a couple of teams early, the public will be all over them every week,” Salmons said. “Sometimes when you put all these guys from different teams, it just takes a while. But if they happen to click from day one, absolutely, the public will be on them.”
What it means for USC
The hype train is officially out of control. Will USC be good? Yes. Could USC win the Pac-12 Championship and the Rose Bowl? Yes. Will they win the CFP? No.
Yes USC always has pressure to perform, but this adds even more pressure and expectations to a team who was 4 – 8 last season. Especially if they start out hot, which is very possible because of their “weak” schedule.
This team is locked down at quarterback and the skills positions, but there’s holes everywhere else. Riley has had less than a year to get “his guys” in. He’s been reliant on the transfer portal this offseason, but what he really wants to do is build the roster up through recruiting.
The offensive line quality must improve for Riley to succeed, with his commitment to the run making passing easier for his QB’s.
Defensively, everything needs to improve, they haven’t had a truly elite defense since the end of the Carroll era in the late 2000s.
The schools favored over USC are Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M. It makes sense for these teams to be favored over the Trojans.
Alabama has a complete team, Ohio State has questions about their defense but it has way more talent than USC. Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M only have QB questions, the rest of their rosters are complete, unlike USC.
Make sure to check out our USC and Pac-12 coverage here at Gridiron Heroics. Here’s an article on Pac-12 over/under win totals.
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