USC Football Roundup: Betting on CFB around the corner and more (5/14)

The Supreme Court struck down a federal ban against sports gambling on Monday, opening the door for betting on college football. Here’s the USC football roundup for May 14th.

The sports world shifted on Monday as the Supreme Court voted to nix a federal ban on sports gambling, leaving the question of legalization to individual states.

What does that mean for USC football?

Every major sports league, including the NCAA, will be impacted by the ruling as some states have already begun the process of legalizing sports gambling. California is not among the six states which have already have legislation in place, but a constitutional amendment has been proposed in the state, per ESPN.

Meanwhile, analysts like Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports have started started trying to make sense of the potential impact on the NCAA, which has bylaws in place restricting those involved in college sports from placing sports bets.

But fans in states, including California, which opt to allow it will soon have the opportunity to place bets on college football games.

At Reign of Troy, we’ve long tracked betting odds for entertainment and informational purposes. Soon enough, those odds could become much more noteworthy to fans in Los Angeles.

NFL starters in the NFC East

NFL.com’s projection of every starting lineup in the pros continued on Monday with the NFC East, where Tyron Smith, Chad Wheeler and Nelson Agholor hold down the fort.

Smith is set to start for the Cowboys for the sixth year. Marcus Martin will also rep the Trojans in Dallas, just not in the starting lineup.

The New York Giants are expected to start the season with Wheeler in the first team lineup at right tackle, which isn’t bad for an undrafted free agent in his sophomore season. He’ll face competition from Ereck Flowers there.

Tight end Rhett Ellison will have to do some work to break into a starting role in New York though.

Meanwhile, Agholor should retain his place as Philadelphia’s primary slot receiver going into the 2018 season.

A Todd McNair primer

If you haven’t been paying close attention to the Todd McNair trial, but want to know what’s been going on before the jury rules some time this week, Lizelle Brandt has a primer of the case for WeAreSC.com.

Exploring the closing arguments for both sides, Brandt goes step-by-step explaining McNair’s arguments, the NCAA’s counter and what the jury is responsible for answering.

Replacing Uchenna Nwosu

Chris Hummer with 247Sports dives into an underrated offseason storyline for USC: How will the Trojans replace Uchenna Nwosu?

Using Pro Football Focus data, Hummer looks at why Nwosu was so valuable for the Trojans and why it may not be as easy as it seems to fill his position on the defense this year.

Trojan Trivia

USC has limited every opposing rusher they’ve faced in a season to under 100 yards eight times since 1946, most recently in 2002.

In 2017, the defense allowed six different rushers to eclipse 100 yards, including two in one game against Notre Dame. Stanford’s Bryce Love managed the feat in both meetings with USC.

TRENDING: Cornerback unit should be healthier, deeper in 2018

The Trojans will see four of those rushers again in 2018, including Love, Arizona’s Khalil Tate, Notre Dame’s Brandon Wimbush and Utah’s Zach Moss.