USC Football Odds: Trojans favored in early betting lines vs. rivals

Early betting lines for a trio of games released this week have USC Football favored over 2017 opponents Notre Dame, UCLA and Texas.

As the 2017 season inches closer, USC Football’s prospects for the year have become a bit clearer thanks to some early betting lines courtesy of South Point sports book.

Earlier this week, the oddsmakers set USC’s line against Western Michigan at 19 points, and the confidence in the Trojans remains strong when it comes to even tougher match ups against Texas, Notre Dame and UCLA.

The Trojans are an early 12-point favorite over Tom Herman’s Texas at the Coliseum this September. The Longhorns are an intriguing opponent, but coming off a 5-7 season in 2016, the Herman effect clearly isn’t enough to boost their stock for now.

The trip to South Bend in October features USC just shy of a touchdown spread at 6.5 points against Notre Dame. Like Texas, the Irish are coming off a disappointing season. They are favorites by four points over Michigan State, but even bigger underdogs to eight-point favorite Miami.

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Back home in November against UCLA, Clay Helton’s team holds an early 13-point line. The Bruins are also four-point favorites at home over Colorado, but 15-point underdogs at Washington.

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Though things could certainly change with a bad result or two during the season, USC doesn’t figure to be an underdog in many games this year.

Considering the lines against Texas, Notre Dame and UCLA, it’s actually hard to conceive of any game on the schedule with the Trojans facing long odds. Stanford in Week 2 stands out as a tough opponent, but with the game at the Coliseum, it’s likely USC will enter that tilt as the favorite.

USC was 8-5 against the spread in 2016, per VegasInsider.com, failing to cover as a favorite just twice, against Penn State in the Rose Bowl and Colorado.

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South Point currently lists the Trojans with 6/1 odds to win the national title, tied with Ohio State and Florida State behind Alabama.