Plenty to knock out this week ahead of the holiday so I apologize for posting this earlier than usual; hard to make a prediction sometimes until you've got all the info to digest. Therefore, I'll allow users to change their votes this week until the poll locks at 2:55 on Saturday.
Standings update: Only 6 posters got the correct prediction last Saturday at ND 31-40, and
@Tejas and
@indianamouse mouse have moved into the co-lead at 5 points. 8 posters behind them tied at 4, with two guaranteed games remaining.
I'm a little skeptical as to why ND is yet again a seemingly narrow favorite against an inferior opponent; last week, we saw the line move from -17.5 in favor of ND to just -14.5 before kickoff, and that was still just -108, meaning you had better odds to take an Army cover. Vegas and the money were way off on that one. Here we are again, just -7.5 road favorites against a team sitting at 6-5, with a gauntlet of a schedule. That being said, they have struggled even against the weaker teams on their schedule. They have some close losses, but quite a few nail-biter wins as well.
FPI still loves USC, as they are ranked in the 22nd in offensive efficiency and 31st in defensive efficiency. I imagine USC will have a hard tie stopping the run for four quarters, Leonard has been much more consistent as a passer, and the improving health of Evans and Faison have been huge for the passing attack. I don't see USC scoring enough on our defense to pull off any sort of upset. This one will be closer than we all like, but ND finds a way in the 4th quarter to pull ahead and shut the door on USC.
ND 31, USC 20
