Notre Dame-USC Betting Odds

As we take a dive into the USC-Notre Dame betting odds, it’s worth noting that this is a year where both of these programs are somewhat in flux.

With USC, the story is obvious.

Clay Helton was fired on September 13th, a solid three weeks into the season. That came after an embarrassing, 42-28 home loss to Stanford, ending any hopes that the Trojans had of winning the Pac-12 this season. That’s not ideal.

In South Bend, the Irish aren’t dealing with a coaching change but they are trying to figure out who, exactly, their quarterback is. They’ve played three of them in recent weeks, as starter Jack Coan remains the stater but Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne are working their way into getting minutes.

We haven’t had this rivalry played since 2019, so where do you want to invest your money as we head into the 92nd iteration of USC vs. Notre Dame?

Longtime college sports writer Rob Dauster, the co-founder of The Field of 68 and The Field of 12 Network is here to break down the tantalizing matchup and provide the Virginia Tech-Pittsburgh betting odds for Week 8 of the college football season.

Until then, as a NCAA fan, you can check NFL betting odds and get ready to place a bet at BetRivers.

WEEK 7 BETTING ODDS: WEEKEND GUIDE

USC-NOTRE DAME BETTING ODDS:

USC (3-3) at No. 13 NOTRE DAME (5-1)
GAME: 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
MONEYLINE: Notre Dame (-245), USC (+188)
SPREAD: Notre Dame (-7)
TOTAL: 58

USC-NOTRE DAME PREDICTION:

The narrative in this game is that Notre Dame is the only team that still has something left to play for.

No one from the Pac-12 is going to be heading to the College Football Playoff. It’s not going to happen, especially not for a USC team that is sitting at 3-3 on the season. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has just the one loss and, if things break their way down the stretch of the season, an outside shot of getting into the College Football Playoff. Crazier things have happened for brands as big as that of the Irish.

I’m not necessarily disagreeing with any of that.

All I’ll say is that USC is arguably the more talented team here. Drake London may just be the best player on the field. The cliche is to throw the records out the window when it comes to rivalry games, but there is a reason for that. There isn’t much for USC to play for this season. Beating Notre Dame? That’s something to play for and a reason for them to show up.

I don’t care about matchups, the secondary, who’s playing quarterback, who’s calling the play. I’ll take the touchdown, I’ll take USC and I’ll back the underdog in a rivalry game where the favorite may not actually be all that good.