USC is a slight favorite in NCAA betting at Oregon State on Saturday night. The Trojans are back in the Top 25 and they are now tied for third in the Pac-10 with Arizona. On the other side, the Beavers have fallen apart and they might not even make it to a bowl game this season. USC is a 3-point favorite in college football betting at Sbg global.com with the total on the game listed at 58.5.
Statistical Mismatch
The Trojans have the advantage on both sides of the ball in this game. They are led on offense by quarterback Matt Barkley and last week they also had a running game as Marc Tyler rushed for 160 yards. Barkley is first in the conference in TD passes with 25 and second in yards with 2,518 yards. Oregon State was doing okay until the last two games as they have hit the skids. The Beavers have lost their last two games to UCLA and Washington State and they are in sad shape. Oregon State has not lost three straight conference games since 2002 but it could happen on Saturday. And if it does the Beavers will probably not go to a bowl game. They may not anyway, as their last two games are against Stanford and Oregon and they will be underdogs in both of those contests. The Beavers are 65th in the country in offense and 66th in defense so they have no real team strengths. Jacquizz Rodgers is third in the league in rushing but he has been shut down of late.
Series History
USC has won 32 of their last 35 games against Oregon State but they have lost their last two at Corvallis including in 2008 when they were the number one team in the country. With the conference expanding to 12 teams next season these two teams will not meet again until 2013. As you look at the NCAA betting stats for this game you will see some interesting numbers. The Trojans are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games but they are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games as a favorite. The Beavers are 18-5 ATS in their last 23 games as an underdog but they are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. In this series, the home team is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings and the Trojans are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings at Oregon State.