JD Terhart in 
The #21 overall USC Trojans (4-0) head to Seattle this weekend for a massive Pac-12 matchup against the #17 overall Washington Huskies (3-1). Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM EST on Saturday, September 28th at Husky Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on FOX.
Taking a look at the Week 5 college football odds, Washington opened as a 9-point home favorite earlier this week. That line has moved by a full point after early betting, as the Huskies are currently listed at -10. The total for the game is sitting at 58.5 points.
Vegas Betting Preview & Game Odds: Washington vs USC
USC improved to 4-0 overall last weekend after a thrilling 30-23 home victory over Utah. The Trojans led 14-10 at the half and managed to hold on down the stretch, outscoring the Utes 16-13 in the second half. QB Matt Fink was outstanding, going 21/30 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. His favorite target was clearly WR Michael Pittman Jr., who exploded for 232 yards and a touchdown on a game-high ten receptions. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns also found the end zone, which made up for the fact that the ground attack managed to gain just 28 net rushing yards against an incredibly strong Utah run defense. Overall, USC managed to score three touchdowns on just under 400 yards of total offense.
The Trojans were fairly average defensively against Utah, giving up well over 400 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, they did do a pretty good job against Utes QB Tyler Huntley, holding him to 210 passing yards and a single score through the air.
Washington moved to 3-1 on the season last Saturday after an impressive 45-19 victory on the road against BYU. The Huskies scored 21 points in the opening quarter and never looked back, eventually winning by more than three touchdowns. QB Jacob Eason played extremely well, going 24/28 for 290 yards and throwing three touchdowns. Eason had a ton of help on the ground from the duo of Sean McGrew and Richard Newton, who combined for 190 yards and a touchdown. The receiving tandem of Aaron Fuller and Andre Baccellia also had a big outing, racking up 12 receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns. As a whole, the Washington offense generated almost 500 total yards and scored four touchdowns against an overwhelmed Cougars defense.
The Huskies defense was also very solid in Week 4, holding BYU to just two touchdowns on well under 350 yards of total offense. Washington was especially tough against the run, giving up only one touchdown and 79 net rushing yards.
NCAA Football Betting Predictions & Free Pick: USC +10
Even though this line looks pretty efficient, I think a little bit of value opened up on the Trojans side after the spread moved to double-digits after opening at 9. While I’m not going to predict an outright upset by USC here in Week 5, I do think they have all the tools to keep this game close down the stretch. Not only have they yet to lose a single regular season game, they have also responded extremely to well to some pretty major adversity after losing starting quarterback JT Daniels for the year back in Week 1. Washington has also played quite well, but they did lose their previous Pac-12 divisional battle at home against Cal back in Week 2.
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It should be interesting to see how Matt Fink performs in his first true start after Kedon Slovis suffered a concussion against Utah. While Slovis has yet to be ruled out, it still hasn’t been announced that he has been cleared to play. I have seen enough from both quarterbacks to be fine taking the Trojans against the spread regardless of who is under center. Fink looked great last week against an extremely solid Utes defense and despite being tested again in this matchup, I think he has enough help around him to keep the offense clicking. The Huskies have also struggled against the spread when playing divisional opponents as of late, going just 2-8 ATS over their last ten games against Pac-12 teams. They are also only 1-4 ATS in their last five meetings at home against the Trojans. Ultimately, I think Washington should be able to grind out a home win here in Week 5, but I’m not leaving 10 points on the board after Cal pulled of a single-point upset in Week 2. Give me USC to cover!