Saturday will be breakfast and Pac-12 football at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO, as the No. 8 USC Trojans visit the Colorado Buffaloes. The game will kickoff at noon ET on Fox, meaning it will be a 10 a.m. kick locally. This will be another star-studded affair for the Buffs as celebrities like LeBron James and Jay-Z will reportedly be in attendance for the game.
USC (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) handled its business once again last Saturday in a 42-28 road victory over Arizona State. The Sun Devils hung around for most of this contest and actually cut the Trojan lead to three midway through the third quarter. However, USC did what it needed to do down the stretch as a few fourth-quarter touchdown passes by Caleb Williams sealed the win. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner went 20-31 for 322 yards and three touchdowns through the air, also adding a pair of rushing touchdowns on the ground.
Colorado (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) got brought back down to reality in a brutal way last Saturday, getting steamrolled in a 42-6 road loss at Oregon. The deficiencies on both lines for Deion Sanders’ program were made apparent in this bludgeoning as the offense could only generate 1.6 yards per rush and quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked seven times. The team was without two-way star Travis Hunter, who is still recovering from the late-hit injury he suffered against Colorado State.
SP+ Rankings
USC: 5 overall, 1 offense, 41 defense
Colorado: 79 overall, 58 offense, 101 defense
Injury update
USC
WR Raleek Brown – Questionable (Undisclosed)
Colorado
CB/WR Travis Hunter – Out (Abdominal)
S Myles Slusher – Questionable (Undisclosed)
WR Xavier Weaver – Questionable (Undisclosed)
ATS/Total
Against The Spread in 2023
USC: 2-2 ATS
Colorado: 2-2 ATS
Total in 2023
USC: Over 3-1
Colorado: Over 2-2
Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: USC -21.5
Total: 72.5
Moneyline: USC -1450, Colorado +850
Opening line: USC -24
Opening total: 74.5
Weather
The Pick
Colorado +21.5
Colorado got shoved into a locker last Saturday and it will look for a better performance back in front of its home fans for this one. The Buffs’ offense couldn’t do a single thing against Oregon last week, but should be able to move the ball against a USC defense that is still suspect and prone to giving up points. Shedeur Sanders and company ultimately won’t be able to keep up with Caleb Williams and the USC offense, but the backdoor cover potential here is tremendous and I’ll take it.