SCliff Notes: Vegas Line Forecasts Tight Match Up and More USC Football News

Can’t get enough USC football? We’ve got your morning dose of all the best content from around the web concerning the men of Troy.

1st & 10:

Pick ‘Em… USC’s match up with Utah tomorrow stands on a knife’s edge. Just ask Vegas.

The oddsmakers set the line on this weekend’s game at even on Sunday and the needle has hardly moved.

In fact, the largest margin between the two teams was a brief bump for the Trojans as 1.5-point favorites on Monday, according to Vegas Insider’s consensus numbers.

Since then the line has shifted back to its starting position, reflecting the close nature of the match up and the questions surrounding both teams.

Is Utah for real? Like Arizona they found a signature win against one of the top dogs in the Pac-12 on the road, but they’ve struggled to really put their stamp on the season with tight games and a loss in-conference.

Has USC turned a corner? Colorado is a perennial whipping boy in the division, so it’s not like the Trojans can point to last weekend’s 56-28 drubbing of the Buffaloes as concrete proof that they’ve solved their problems on either side of the ball.

Vegas isn’t sure about the answers to these questions. Neither are we.

In Other News…

• How does the Utah offense match up with the USC defense? We’ve got a breakdown of the units. (Reign Of Troy)
• Shotgun Spratling has five reasons USC will lost to Utah. (Conquest Chronicles)
• In their 6-Pac of questions for week 9, the folks at the Pac-12 blog are also leaning towards a Utah victory. (ESPN)
• Over at Fox Sports, Stewart Mandel is also riding the Ute train while Bruce Feldmen sided with Cody Kessler and the Trojans. (Fox Sports)
• The contest pits the Pac-12’s two best running backs up against each other, as Kyle Kensing explores. (Bleacher Report)
• Considering that, Steve Sarkisian says it’s obvious that the number one job for the Trojan defense is to stop Devontae Booker and the Utah run game. (OC Register)
• Gary Paskwietz also looks into the winning identity Booker gives Utah. (ESPN)
• Here’s a viewers guide for all the action in the Pac-12 this weekend. (ESPN)
• Flipping over to the hardwood, the Pac-12 doesn’t have high expectations for Andy Enfield and the Trojans in basketball, picking them to finish tenth. (OC Register)
• Want to hear from the coach directly. Here’s the full Q&A with Enfield and Nikola Jovanovic from the media day. (RipsIt Blog)

Stat of the Day:

During USC’s 1972 national championship season, quarterback Pat Haden threw seven touchdowns total. Cody Kessler threw seven touchdowns in one game against Colorado.

Tweets of the Day: