USC Trojans vs Iowa Hawkeyes Pick, Odds, Holiday Bowl Prediction 12/27/2019

Game: USC Trojans vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Friday, December 27, 2019

Holiday Bowl

Location: SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, CA

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Iowa -3

Total/Over-Under: 54

SDCCU Stadium is the site where Nathan Stanley and the Iowa Hawkeyes will take on the USC Trojans on Friday, December 27, 2019 in the Holiday Bowl. USC opens this game as 3-point underdogs. The Trojans are 6-5-1 ATS and 7-5-0 when betting on the total. The Hawkeyes are 3-8-1 when wagering on the over/under and 5-7-0 against the spread.

In their last game, the USC Trojans faced the UCLA Bruins and notched a win by a score of 52-35. Stephen Carr led the team on the ground for that game. His longest run of the day went for 46 yards and he notched 1 touchdown for the game. He rushed for 87 yards on 11 carries which gave him an average of 7.9 yards per run. Drake London led the team in receiving yardage with a total of 142 yards on 8 catches. He had an average of 17.8 yards per catch for that game. Leading the way at QB for the Trojans was Kedon Slovis who went 37/47 with 515 yards passing and tossed 4 TD's. He walked away with no picks. The Trojans ran the football 32 times and generated 128 yards earning them an average of 4.0 yards per carry. On the day, they ran 79 plays for a total of 643 yards. For the contest, the Trojans had a total of 34 first downs and they totaled 7 penalties for 57 yards which is telling of how their week of practice went. When it comes to their defensive performance, USC conceded 30 completions on 49 throws totaling 383 yards, and a completion percentage of 61.2%. Overall, they gave up 540 yards and forced 1 turnover. On the ground, the Trojans conceded 157 yards on 39 carries which gave them an average of 4.0 yards per attempt allowed.

The Trojans head into this game 8-4 in 2019. They are one of top scoring teams in the nation with an average of 33.2 points per game, putting them 36th in college football. As a unit, they are averaging 126.3 yards on the ground per game which is 10th in the conference. For total yards, they sit in 4th in the conference and 26th in college football with 5,546 yards. The Trojans have one of the average defenses in the nation, allowing 27.8 points per contest putting them 6th in the Pac-12. When it comes to yards through the air, the Trojans have conceded 4,031 yards. Teams are completing 60.8% of the throws they are attempting against them and averaging 6.9 yards per attempt. In regard to rushing yards, USC is giving up 166.7 yards per contest ranking them 9th in the Pac-12 and 76th in the country. They are allowing teams to run for an average of 4.6 yards per carry putting them 10th in the Pac-12 Conference and 90th in college football overall. Overall, they have allowed 2,000 yards rushing through 12 contests.

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In their last contest, the Iowa Hawkeyes took on the Nebraska Cornhuskers and earned the victory by a score of 27-24. Running the show from under center for the Hawkeyes was Nate Stanley who went 11/24 with 99 yards passing but wasn't able to get any balls in the endzone via the pass. He gave away 1 interception on the day. Tyler Goodson led the team on the ground for the game. His longest run of the day went for 55 yards and he tallied 1 touchdown during the game. He ran for 116 yards by way of 13 carries which meant he averaged 8.9 yards per carry. Sam LaPorta led the team in receiving yardage with a tally of 37 yards on 3 receptions. He notched an average of 12.3 yards per catch for the game. The Hawkeyes ran the ball 31 times and earned 225 yards giving them an average of 7.3 yards per rush. On the day, they ran 56 plays for 324 yards. In the game, the Hawkeyes totaled 13 first downs and they had 6 infractions for 49 yards which tells us that they had an average outing in terms of discipline. When discussing the defense, Iowa gave up 12 catches on 23 attempts for a total of 100 yards, and a completion percentage of 52.2%. In the running game, the Hawkeyes gave up 184 yards on 56 tries which means they had an average of 3.3 yards per carry allowed. On the day, they gave up a total of 284 yards and forced 2 takeaways.

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The Hawkeyes come into this matchup with a record of 9-3. Iowa is having a year to forget in the ground game by averaging 139.5 rushing yards per game, ranking them 98th in the country. As a team, they have compiled a total of 1,674 rushing yards through 12 contests, so they are going to want to make some changes to the ground game if they want to make teams respect them. The Hawkeyes average 369.8 yards per game overall which has them at 98th in the nation and 9th in the conference. The Hawkeyes are allowing 13.2 points per game ranking them 2nd in the Big Ten Conference and 5th in college football. Their passing defense is one of the top groups in Division 1. They are giving up 183.7 passing yards per game. For passing yards allowed per game, the Hawkeyes are ranked 3rd in the Big Ten Conference. In terms of points given up, they have given up 158 points in total. When talking about yards rushing, they are conceding 120.9 yards per game which puts them at 25th in the nation and 6th in the Big Ten Conference. For the 2019 season, they have conceded 1,451 rushing yards and 4.8 rushing touchdowns.

Who will win tonight's Trojans/Hawkeyes NCAA football game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Hawkeyes -3

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