No. 11 Utah vs. No. 4 USC picks and best bets for the Pac-12 Championship

The 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game will take place on Friday night as the No. 11 Utah Utes will take on the No. 4 USC Trojans at 8 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and will air on Fox.

Utah (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12) is looking to simultaneously claim its second straight Pac-12 title and ruin USC’s hopes of a College Football Playoff berth. The Utes were consistent throughout league play this season with its only blemishes coming at the hands of UCLA and Oregon. It’s signature victory came against this very USC team back in October, a 43-42 thriller in Salt Lake City back in October. Senior quarterback Cameron Rising has thrown for 2,629 passing yards, ran for 391 rushing yards, and accounted for 28 total touchdowns. Tight end Dalton Kincaid has also been the team’s top receiver with 850 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

USC (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) has lived up to the offseason hype under first-year head coach Lincoln Riley and is on the cusp of the program’s very first trip to the College Football Playoff. With the aforementioned loss to Utah its only blemish on the schedule, the Trojans have taken care of business in all of its other matchups. They ended the season with a 48-45 victory over crosstown rival UCLA in a classic before handling Notre Dame to close the season. Quarterback Caleb Williams may hoisting the Heisman Trophy in eight days, throwing for 3,712 passing yards, running for 351 rushing yards, and accounting for 44 total touchdowns. Running back Travis Dye broke off 884 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the year before going down with a season-ending knee injury.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Utah: 10 overall, 25 offense, 21 defense
USC: 11 overall, 2 offense, 63 defense

Injury update

Utah

No new injuries to report.

USC

No new injuries to report.

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Utah: 7-5 ATS
USC: 8-4 ATS

Total

Utah: Over 6-6
USC: Over 9-3

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: USC -3
Total: 67.5
Moneyline: USC -150, Utah +130

Opening line: USC -2
Opening total: 66.5

Weather

Domed stadium. Weather will not be an issue.

The Pick

USC -3

This feels like the coronation moment for both Caleb Williams as the Heisman winner and USC as a national title contender. The Trojans came up just short against the Utes over a month ago and it’s hard to imagine them going 0-2 against the Utes this season.

Utah running back Tavion Thomas officially announced that his season his over due to a foot injury last week and that will be a critical loss on offense for the Utes. Take the Trojans to cover the three-point spread.