The 2024 Las Vegas Bowl will give college football fans a Big Ten vs. SEC battle between USC and Texas A&M. The Trojans are trying to solidify a winning season while the Aggies are searching for their 9th victory.
Find out which team will have the upper hand in this piece below. Best of luck with all of your betting action! Thanks, as always, for reading!
Oddsmakers opened the Las Vegas Bowl at Texas A&M -2.5, but that number was bet up to Texas A&M -4 after lots of USC players decided to opt out of the contest. As you might expect, the main reason for the line movement was USC starting QB Miller Moss transferring to Louisville.
There's been some movement on the total for this game. The line opened at 50.5 and a little bit of Over money has pushed it up to 52 at most online sportsbooks. There are a few 51.5s out there for folks who want to bet on the Over.
USC started the 2024 campaign with a boatload of high hopes, but they never could turn the corner in the Big Ten. The Trojans pulled off a massive upset over the LSU Tigers in Week 1 but losses to Michigan, Minnesota, and Maryland were all major disappointments.
Miller Moss threw for 2555 yards and 18 TDs, but the Trojans will start Jayden Maiava under center for this bowl game. The youngster showed considerable poise in wins over Nebraska and UCLA. The problem is that three of Maiava's best receivers entered the transfer portal a few days ago.
USC's defense struggled at times in 2024, especially against the run. The Trojans ranked just 78th in yards per rush allowed but their secondary did a decent job of limiting big plays. One glaring weakness of USC is their lack of a consistent pass rush.
Texas A&M put up some mediocre numbers under former starter Connor Weigman. However, all of that changed when Marcel Reed took the reins. The former Mr. Football threw for 1572 yards and 12 TDs and was the key reason the Aggies thrived down the stretch. Reed gets help in the running game from Le'Veon Moss, who ran for 765 yards and 10 TDs this season.
The Aggies' defense didn't put up any eye-popping metrics in 2024, but they did an excellent job of getting off the field on third down. Texas A&M ranked 18th in that very crucial category. Taurean York led the team with 75 tackles.
USC is a talented squad, but I'm not sure how much Lincoln Riley and the Trojans care about this bowl game. They've been decimated by opt-outs and the transfer portal and will be missing at least seven starters in this one.
Meanwhile, A&M hasn't been hurt all that much by the portal or by opt-outs. They did lose WR Cyrus Allen and a couple of good pass rushers but most of the core roster remains intact. Let's lay the points with the Aggies. Gig Em!
Prediction: Texas A&M 31 - USC 21