2019 USC Trojans College Football Odds and Expert Betting Picks

2018 Record: 5-7

2019 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 7.5

2019 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

Few head coaches in college football are on as hot of a seat as USC coach Clay Helton. And for good reason. Helton, despite opening his tenure with 10-3 and 11-3 seasons (including a Pac-12 title in 2017), has not done much to inspire confidence. And last year the Trojans fell off the map with an ugly, sloppy 5-7 season.

Ticket sales are down. Boosters aren't happy. And things are pointed in the wrong direction for one of college football's marquee programs.

The Trojans are just 8-18 against the spread the past two seasons. That, as much as anything, is proof that USC has not been anywhere close to playing up to their level of expectations.

Talent is rarely a problem for the Trojans. Experience, this year, is. USC has just 10 returning starters, and they drop from having 10 senior starters last year to just three this season.

They are also trying to familiarize themselves with an entirely new offense. Helton has always been more of a traditional, ground-and-pound type of coach. Kliff Kingsbury snubbed Helton and the Trojans early in the offseason. That led to Helton settling on Graham Harrell to take over the offensive coordinator role, and Harrell will bring the Air Raid offense to Los Angeles.

The development of sophomore quarterback J.T. Daniels is crucial to this season. Daniels wasn't terrible in his first year under center. He turned the ball over too much and showed some questionable leadership. Yet he has four of his top five receivers back in the fold, and Daniels will now be playing in an extremely quarterback-friendly system.

The USC defense is extremely young. As many as eight freshmen or sophomores could end up starting for the Trojans when the season opens.

USC is going to get thrown into the fire with a brutal opening schedule. They should handle rebuilding Fresno State in the opener. But then the Trojans have to take on tough, physical Stanford and Utah teams at home while also hitting the road to take on BYU and Washington. After a bye week on Oct. 5, the Trojans head to South Bend to take on rival Notre Dame.

If USC isn't at least 3-3 after those first six games, then they don't have a prayer of getting eight wins. At one point midseason, USC has five of seen games on the road. They also host an excellent Oregon squad to start November.

I don't feel strongly about USC one way or another. I think they will be vastly improved, and they will definitely get back to a bowl game. However, if they get off to a slow start while they work on their new scheme, then I could see the players (and administrators) turning on Helton. It could get ugly.

I will paly the 'under' here simply because there is so much public money coming in on the 'over'. If you can get this number at 7.0, then I would take the 'over', since a 7-5 campaign would be a 'push' rather than a loss. USC has the potential to get to eight wins. But I would rather put my money down on proven coaches, high-end talent, and winning experience than just backing potential. Take the 'under'.

Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past nine years, earning nearly $40,000 in total football profit. He has also posted 7 of 9 winning seasons (including three straight winning years) and produced an amazing 50 of 76 winning football months over the past 12 years. Robert has eight of 10 winning NFL preseasons and he is at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 1,000 totals picks. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System has posted three of five winning seasons. Robert is looking for a fourth straight winning football year and wants more profit this fall. SIGN UP HERE TODAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 3-FOR-1 FOOTBALL SPECIALS!

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