USC Trojans at Minnesota Gophers 2010 NCAAF Week 3 Odds, Preview, and Predictions: Head football coach Lane Kiffin takes his 2-0 USC Trojans on the road to TCF Bank Stadium to play the Minnesota Gophers on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET the game can be seen on ESPN. The Trojans haven’t look like national champion teams of former coach Pete Carroll, but they have been winning. One thing they definitely need to clean up is penalties as they have committed 24 in two games to lead the country with 240 penalty yards. The Trojans have been sanctioned by the NCAA and lost some players and cannot participate in post season play. Vegas odds makers have the USC Trojans a -12 1/2 point favorite on the road against the Minnesota Gophers.
Southern Cal won its home opener last Saturday 17-14 against the Virginia Cavaliers but the team didn’t feel great about the win. “[That’s] probably the most miserable 2-0 locker room I’ve ever been in,” Kiffin said. “Which is good. Our players understand we have to play much better. … but we’re extremely disappointed with our performance.” Sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley was 20 for 35 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns hitting Ronald Johnson with 5 passes for 58 yards. Unlike their opener when they gave up 588 yards to Hawaii, the defense was stifling giving up only 340 tough yards net. Southern Cal is 1-9 ATS in its last 10 games on the road and 0-2 ATS this year. Vegas odds makers have Matt Barkley +10000 odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
The Gophers are coming off a disappointing loss 41-38 to the South Dakota Coyotes at home. Head football coach Tim Brewster is taking the optimistic approach. “As disappointing as last week’s loss to South Dakota was, there’s not a doubt in my mind our team will be ready to play, with the understanding what a great team we are going to be facing,” he said. Golden Gopher quarterback Adam Weber went 21 for 31 for 258 and 3 touchdowns. Running back Duane Bennett broke the 100 yard mark for the second consecutive week rushing 18 times for 104 yards and could give the USC defense some trouble. Odds makers at BookMaker have the over/under for the total score at 54 points combined of the USC Trojans and Minnesota Golden Gophers.
I predict another USC victory and win by two touchdowns so give the points to win. Note: Rich Fritz is a Blog Writer on NSAwins.com and not a pro handicapper. For expert NCAA Football Predictions against the vegas spreads please visit the NSAwins.com homepage for top predictions today from the National Sports Advisors.