USC Football: Trojans Predicted by Computer to Win National Title over Alabama

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Many are picking the Trojans to make it all the way to Miami this year, and the almighty computers appear to be siding with that belief, as

according to PredictionMachine.com

, USC will win it all, beating Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the process.

"In the most likely BCS Championship game, USC tops Alabama, our projected BCS champion at this time last year, to keep the Crimson Tide from winning its second consecutive championship and the third in the last four seasons, which would also have been the SEC’s seventh straight BCS title. USC, also the most likely team within FBS to go undefeated this season, wins over Alabama at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida 56.5% of the time and by an average score of 26.5-20.2."

It’s interesting that USC is considered more likely to win out than anyone else. Alabama has to face Michigan, LSU and Arkansas, all with an inexperienced defense, but the Trojans have tough road games at Stanford, Utah and Washington, and have a strong possibility of having to beat Oregon twice. But, Prediction Machine makes a really strong case, that factors in Georgia as Alabama’s would-be opponent in the SEC title game.

"Interestingly, Alabama ranks ahead of USC in our initial Power Rankings, but USC wins this game more often than not due to matchup advantages. It is important to note that, with three SEC teams in the top four overall (each projected to win 10+ games), eight SEC teams in our top 20 and Michigan (#13) on Alabama’s schedule, USC is far more likely to make the BCS Championship game than Alabama or any other specific SEC team. That being said, with that kind of conference strength (and the gap between the SEC and all other conferences widening), the SEC this year is as close to a lock as we have ever seen to put at least one team into the BCS title game."

Also, the score indicated by the computer in the first quote is another interesting factor, showing that the Trojans can put some points on the Alabama defense, which isn’t out of the question. The Trojans have a bevy of talent on offense, and arguably more talent than anyone in the country. Factor in a Nick Saban defense without key returning starters, and there’s no reason why the Trojans can’t find a way to score 27 points.

As for how the rest of the Pac-12 fared? Oregon is projected to win the Rose Bowl over Michigan 41-33, and the full standings here below, with the average number of wins projected for each team, over the 50,000 played game projections.

Standings 1 USC Trojans 11.12 Oregon Ducks 9.83 Utah Utes 8.04 Stanford Cardinal 7.15 UCLA Bruins 6.76 Washington Huskies 6.77 Washington State Cougars 6.48 California Golden Bears 5.89 Oregon State Beavers 5.710 Arizona State Sun Devils 5.011 Arizona Wildcats 5.012 Colorado Buffaloes 3.0

For the full projections, click here.

H/T: BamaHammer.com