slovis.jpg
USATSI

The USC Trojans will take on the San Jose State Spartans at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Trojans are coming off a 5-1 season in 2020 where they finished ranked No. 21 in the final AP Top 25, while San Jose State went 7-1 to finish ranked No. 24. It was just the second time in school history that the program finished the year in the Top 25 and the Spartans began the year showing the same level of confidence with a 45-14 win over Southern Utah on Saturday.

These programs last played in 2009, but SJSU head coach Brent Brennan and USC head coach Clay Helton should know each other well as both were long-time Pac-12 assistants. The Trojans are favored by 14 points in the latest USC vs. San Jose State odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 59.5. Before entering any San Jose State vs. USC picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of over $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 1 of the 2021 season on a 57-37 run on all top-rated college football picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on USC vs. San Jose State. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football odds for San Jose State vs. USC:

  • USC vs. San Jose State spread: USC -14
  • USC vs. San Jose State over-under: 59.5 points

What to know about the USC Trojans 

The Trojans had three wins by five points or less on their way to winning the Pac-12 South in 2020 but wound up losing the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game 31-24 against Oregon. Kedon Slovis threw for 1,921 yards and 17 touchdowns during the truncated six-game season and he'll be back along with seven other starters from a USC offense that averaged 33.3 points per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Helton will have eight more starters returning but they'll need to improve against the run after allowing 153.3 yards per game. Drake Jackson has been All-Pac-12 each of the last two seasons and he's got the potential to be a disruptive force in the middle of the USC defense.

What to know about the San Jose State Spartans

SJSU was 7-1 last year and is coming off of a 45-14 win against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Saturday. Former Texas A&M and Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel threw for 2,174 yards and 17 touchdowns with just seven interceptions in his first season with the Spartans.

Starkel returned for another season in 2021 and began by throwing for 394 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception in the win over Southern Utah. Running back Tyler Nevens contributed 114 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in the victory and USC will have its work cut out to slow down a prolific offense on Saturday.

How to make USC vs. San Jose State picks

The model has simulated USC vs. San Jose State 10,000 times and the results are in. It is leaning over on the total and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins USC vs. San Jose State? And which side of the spread covers well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks.