USC Arizona Netting – Conference Foes Battle For Positioning Out West
The Arizona Wildcats just got drubbed by Stanford, so their Pac-10 Conference title hopes are just about done. Arizona will try to improve its bowl positioning against bowl-ineligible USC Trojans.
NCAA football betting: USC Trojans @ Arizona Wildcats
Online Betting Odds: Arizona -5.5
Why To Bet On USC
The Trojans, though they can’t make a bowl game, are continuing to play hard for coach Lane Kiffin. USC stumbled and struggled through much of this past Saturday’s game against Arizona State Sun Devils, but the Men of Troy found a way to dig out a 34-33 victory over the Sun Devils. It’s true that USC needed to survive a missed field goal by Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber en route to the win, but the fact remains that the Trojans – for all of their problems – are playing opponents close on a fairly regular basis. USC led No. 1 Oregon Ducks in the third quarter of an Oct. 30 game and took a very strong Stanford Cardinals team to the wire. USC has three losses this year, but only the Oregon game was appreciably decisive. This is a team that has competed well throughout 2010; the problem is that it hasn’t executed well. As long as quarterback Matt Barkley can stay away from the turnover bug, this team will stay in contact with credentialed opponents well into the fourth quarter. Arizona’s offense is creaky right now, with backup quarterback Matt Scott unable to fill in for an ineffective Nick Foles, who is still trying to regain his rhythm after suffering his own season-interrupting injury. If there was ever a time to pounce and win a shootout against a suspect Arizona offense, this is it for USC. The Trojans definitely have a puncher’s chance on the road in Tucson, if not something much more than that.
Why To Bet On Arizona
After losing to Stanford, one would expect to see a great deal of desperation coming from the Arizona sideline. The Wildcats got blasted at Stanford and were never really all that competitive. What should help coach Mike Stoops’ team this week is that starting quarterback Nick Foles now has a game under his belt after returning from an injury that sidelined him for two full games and a large portion of a third contest. Foles, like any other quarterback, needs to establish timing and develop a good rapport with his receivers. Foles looked out of place this past Saturday against Stanford’s physical defense, which took away Arizona’s running game and made the Wildcats very one-dimensional. USC’s defense is thin, especially since the Trojans were hit hard by NCAA sanctions and suffered a number of player defections in the offseason, as allowed by NCAA by-laws. Arizona will not face stiff opposition when it has the ball, and the ability of the Wildcats to score points will give them the resources they need to fend off the Trojans.
How The Game Will Play Out
This will be a hard-fought and competitive game, but like so many contests involving USC, the Trojans’ lack of depth – due to the aforementioned NCAA sanctions – will continue to be a factor in the fourth quarter. Arizona will score at least 14 points in the fourth quarter and at least 24 points in the second half to pull away and cover the number at home.
USC Arizona Betting Pick: Arizona
