The Michigan Wolverines may be the defending national champs, but they haven’t played like it so far this season. The oddsmakers agree after listing the USC Trojans as 6-point favorites when they visit the Big House this weekend.
UM will hope for Alex Orji to bolster as the new QB.
Michigan is coming off a 28-18 win over Arkansas State. They let down bettors in that win by failing to cover as 21.5-point favorites. That substandard win also cost starting quarterback Davis Warren his job. Warren will head to the bench this weekend and the starting job will go to Orji. Warren had only two touchdown passes to six interceptions in the Wolverines first three games, which included a home loss to No. 1 ranked Texas.
At home the Wolverines are 9-1 SU and a lousy 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games. As home underdog they often proven the oddsmakers right at 1-6 SU and 3-4 ATS in their last seven.
USC received an early bye week last week and last took the field on Sept 7 when they easily got past Utah State 48-0 as 31.5-point favorites. A week earlier in their season-opener the Trojans upset LSU 27-20 as 4-point underdogs. One interesting note for total bettors, the final score in both contests fell under the posted total which was well over 60 both times.
USC has rolled as a road favorites with 14 straight wins. That hasn’t translated to guaranteed profits for bettors though. In those 14 wins the Trojans are 7-7 ATS, which includes three straight ATS losses.
Now that USC has joined Michigan in the Big Ten these matchups should be fairly common. That hasn’t been the case previously of course, and the Trojans and Wolverines haven’t faced off since the 2007 Rose Bowl. In that matchup the Trojans won 32-18 as 2-point underdogs.
