Nevada Wolf Pack vs USC Trojans Prediction, 9/2/2023 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nevada Wolf Pack vs USC Trojans

Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023

Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA

TV: PAC12

Odds/Point Spread: Trojans (-36)

Total/Over-Under: 65

The Nevada Wolf Pack (2-10 last season) are traveling to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, September 2, 2023 where they will compete against the USC Trojans (11-3 last year). Nevada opens this contest as 36-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The over/under is set at 65.

The Nevada Wolf Pack finished the year having earned a 2-10 mark. The last time they took the field, the Wolf Pack played the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and ended up losing by a score of 27-22. Nate Cox connected on 27/45 with 278 yds passing and 1 TD. He had a quarterback rating of 110.3 and ended the contest with 2 interceptions. Toa Taua was the leader on the ground for the Wolf Pack with 29 carries for 144 yds (5.0 yards per carry). In the game, they ran 87 plays which converted into 460 yds. The Nevada Wolf Pack ended up running the ball 41 different times and amassed 182 yards, earning them an average of 4.4 yards per carry. When it came to stopping the run, the Wolf Pack gave up 69 yards on 28 tries, which calculates to 2.5 yards per run allowed. Nevada gave up 16 pass completions on 29 attempts for a total of 209 yds, and a completion percentage of 55.2%.

The Wolf Pack earned 3,648 total yards for the previous season. Nevada compiled 7 touchdowns via the pass and 19 touchdowns via the ground. They turned the ball over 17 different times. Nevada accounted for 206 1st downs as a unit, and they were called for 72 penalties for 661 yards. Offensively they had an average of 118.4 yards rushing, ranking them 106th in the nation. When it comes to getting in the endzone, the Nevada Wolf Pack had an average of 18.8 points per game.

In terms of passing yardage, the Wolf Pack gave up 2,779 yds which had them ranked 56th in D-1. In their 12 games, they gave up 231.6 yards per game through the air in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 59.9%. They allowed 396.2 yards/outing which ranked them 81st in D-1. They surrendered 17 throwing touchdowns as well as 23 rushing touchdowns. Opposing teams ran for an average of 4.3 yards per attempt on the ground and 164.6 rushing yards per game last season. Over the course of last year, they gave up 1,975 yards via the running game in 12 games. The Wolf Pack were sitting in 103rd in the country in terms of team defense, giving up 30.9 points per game.

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The Trojans wrapped up their season holding a 11-3 record. When they last stepped on the field, the Trojans took a loss by a score of 46-45 against the Tulane Green Wave. Caleb Williams (5 touchdowns) ended the game with 462 yds on 37/52 passing while his quarterback rating was 173.7. He tossed 1 interception and his average yards per attempt was 8.9. Raleek Brown carried the ball 6 times for 61 yds, ending the game with 10.2 yards per carry for USC. USC rushed the ball for 4.1 yards per tote, finishing the contest with 132 yds on 32 attempts. The Trojans ended up finishing with 594 yards and they ran 84 plays (7.1 yds per play). The Trojans passing defense gave up a completion percentage of 44.4%, surrendering 234 yards on 8 out of 18 through the air. USC gave up 34 attempts on the ground for 305 yards (9.0 yards per rush).

When it comes to their scoring prowess, the Trojans sat 3rd in college football averaging 41.4 points per game. Last season, the Trojans racked up 4,696 yards via the pass along with averaging 335.4 passing yards per contest, ranking them 3rd in D-1. The USC Trojans averaged 506.6 yards per contest, which ranked them 3rd in Division 1. The USC offense totaled 812 penalty yards on 88 violations, which ranked them 29th in college football in terms of hurting your team.

The Trojans conceded 29.2 PPG, which put them in 93rd in college football. USC surrendered a total of 2,237 yards rushing (159.8 yards per contest) as well as 29 touchdowns on the ground last year. In total, they gave up 409 points in total. They allowed 25 touchdowns through the air and 264.1 yards/outing, which had them in 112th in the nation. The Trojans defense took the field for 909 plays, which was good for 94th in D-1.

Who will win tonight's Wolf Pack/Trojans college football game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Wolf Pack +36

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