USC football vs. Fresno State Prediction and Odds for Week 3 (Trojans huge favorites)

USC football has an important contest coming up for Week 3 of their season here against Fresno State. Luckily, the game will be at home, and USC is on fire as they come into it. SC is 2-0, and ranked No. 7 in the nation. It's the highest ranking they've had since 2017. Fresno State isn't too shabby an opponent, either.

They're 1-1, but their one loss was to a 2-0 Oregon State team who is playing like one of the best few teams in the Pac-12 right now. The loss was just by three points, and the Bulldogs' offense scored 32 points. Fresno State Quarterback Jake Haener made it clear this week that he wanted a USC offer coming out of high school, and clearly feels a chip on his shoulder coming into this one.

That being said, it will be a tough task for him and the Bulldogs to keep up with what Trojan QB Caleb Williams will most certainly have in store for the contest. WynnBET most certainly is buying that, and the Trojans here for Week 3.

USC football vs. Fresno State Odds Week 3

The odds for the game on Saturday between USC football and Fresno State see the spread at -12.5 Trojans. The money line is at -500 USC and +375 Fresno State. Expecting a decently high-scoring game, the Over/Under is set at 74. It's -110 to take either the over or the under.

USC football vs. Fresno State Prediction Week 3

It would actually be smart to not take the -12.5 for USC football. While USC is most certainly going to score a lot of points, Fresno State's defense is a little bit quicker than what Stanford had and may be better able to contain the Trojans' weapons.

That's not to say that USC can't score as much as they did against the Cardinal, but it is to say that Fresno State may not just get bludgeoned defensively by the Trojan offense. After all, the offense finished the game a bit cold last week, scoring just six points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter.

And then offensively, the Bulldogs could potentially take advantage of USC having a tough time getting off the field early in drives. SC has often let the opponent drive down the field and even into the red zone this year. While their 42 points allowed total not reflecting that, that's because they have been able to force so many turnovers late in drives.

The defense has forced four turnovers in each game this year, and three of them have been deep into their own territory. Haener has not thrown a pick yet, and only threw nine in 13 games last year. He's most certainly not turnover-prone, and USC is bound to see some regression in how many turnovers they're facing at some point.

If that happens this week, SC could very well potentially give up more points than either Rice or Stanford. In my preseason prediction of this game, I predicted an 11-point, 41-30 win for USC. Based off of what I've seen so far this season, I of course still expect the Trojan offense to put up over 40 points.

With the defense 72nd in yards allowed per game, however, I haven't seen enough from the defense to fully trust them to keep the game from coming within 12 points. Take Fresno State +12.5 (-110), but still be confident in the Trojans to get the job done against a Group of Five team who they should beat and are right to be favored over.