It’s already Week 13 of the College Football season, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. We’ve already seen a few projected rankings and the potential bracket, but there’s still plenty of time for teams to stake their claim over the next few weeks, hoping to do enough to secure a spot in the elusive 12-team playoff.
With that in mind, there are a lot of games on the slate this weekend that are good examples of the above, but we’re particularly excited for USC vs. Oregon, as they’re the 15th and 7th-ranked teams, respectively.
This should be a solid matchup, and with a projected point total of 59.5, oddsmakers believe this could be a shootout, which is always entertaining for fans. This game should be fun enough as it is, but we’ve put together our favorite Underdog player props from it as well, hoping to cash in on a great one. Let’s get into it!
We know we mentioned that this could be a shootout in the above, but we’re just not confident in Dante Moore’s arm to help make this happen.
It seems more likely that Oregon will have success on the ground than in the air, especially when looking at their top two backs, so we’re fading Moore in this one.
He has had less than 200 passing yards in three of his past five games, including an 86-yard game against Wisconsin, so we’re thinking this trend will continue against USC’s strong passing defense.
We went back and forth on this one, but ultimately decided to take the over on Jayden Maiava’s passing numbers. Maiava has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country and has played particularly well against ranked opponents.
He was able to put up 254 against Iowa’s tough defense last week, and had 328+ yards against Notre Dame and Illinois. Maiava seems matchup-proof at this point, so we’re riding with the hot hand and taking the over on his passing total.
We might be fading Dante Moore in this game, but it’s full speed ahead for Noah Whittington, who has performed spectacularly when necessary.
He’s had 97+ yards in three of his last four games, with his only “dud” performance coming against Minnesota last week, where he still managed to rush for over 70 yards.
We’re expecting Oregon to call his number early and often, especially if Moore is having difficulties in the passing attack.