It's still early, but the Trojans laying 6/6.5 points against Nebraska seems to be the one that the majority of the public is eating up. Although I tend to be contrarian when it comes to bowl season, I happen to like USC here as well, and it was one of the first games that drew my attention when the lines first came out.
The number has already been bet up a point or so, and will most certainly hit 7 at some point.
I just question Nebraska's motivation in this game. It's not that they would overlook USC, but I'm not sure how exactly they come out and play an inspired game, given the circumstances. Obviously their season didn't go as expected, then Bo Pelini gets canned and the interim head coach for the game, Barney Cotton, is an OL coach who most likely won't have a job with the university once the bowl game ends.
It seems that a lot of the underclassmen will probably be preoccupied with developments amongst the new staff, incoming hires, rumors and so forth, and key seniors such as Ameer Abdullah, Randy Gregory, and Kenny Bell, will have their minds on the NFL draft. Are they really going to play their guts out in a seemingly meaningless game, or will they just be hoping to get through 60 more minutes of football without any serious injuries that could plummet their draft stock?
We all know that motivation is a big key when it comes to these bowl games and it's fair to ask whether Nebraska will show up for this game or not. USC probably isn't exactly thrilled either, but at least they don't have all the swirling distractions of a coaching change, and they will probably use this game as a springboard towards the 2015 season.
In addition to the motivation edge, I think USC is easily the more talented team as well. If they intend to finish their year on a strong note, there's no reason why they can't cover a spread under a touchdown. The Trojans can stress Nebraska's pass defense in ways they never really experienced in the B1G. Agholor should be a nightmare for the NU secondary. Really, Miami probably had the best passing attack of any Husker opponent this year and they moved they ball efficiently for pretty much the entire game... they just couldn't corral Abdullah.
Maybe Nebraska pulls a rabbit out of their hat and keeps it close, who knows... but I'm going to side with the overwhelming majority on this game and make a play on USC -6.5. This game has a chance to get ugly, much the way many of these types of marquee games have for Nebraska in recent times.
Thoughts?
The number has already been bet up a point or so, and will most certainly hit 7 at some point.
I just question Nebraska's motivation in this game. It's not that they would overlook USC, but I'm not sure how exactly they come out and play an inspired game, given the circumstances. Obviously their season didn't go as expected, then Bo Pelini gets canned and the interim head coach for the game, Barney Cotton, is an OL coach who most likely won't have a job with the university once the bowl game ends.
It seems that a lot of the underclassmen will probably be preoccupied with developments amongst the new staff, incoming hires, rumors and so forth, and key seniors such as Ameer Abdullah, Randy Gregory, and Kenny Bell, will have their minds on the NFL draft. Are they really going to play their guts out in a seemingly meaningless game, or will they just be hoping to get through 60 more minutes of football without any serious injuries that could plummet their draft stock?
We all know that motivation is a big key when it comes to these bowl games and it's fair to ask whether Nebraska will show up for this game or not. USC probably isn't exactly thrilled either, but at least they don't have all the swirling distractions of a coaching change, and they will probably use this game as a springboard towards the 2015 season.
In addition to the motivation edge, I think USC is easily the more talented team as well. If they intend to finish their year on a strong note, there's no reason why they can't cover a spread under a touchdown. The Trojans can stress Nebraska's pass defense in ways they never really experienced in the B1G. Agholor should be a nightmare for the NU secondary. Really, Miami probably had the best passing attack of any Husker opponent this year and they moved they ball efficiently for pretty much the entire game... they just couldn't corral Abdullah.
Maybe Nebraska pulls a rabbit out of their hat and keeps it close, who knows... but I'm going to side with the overwhelming majority on this game and make a play on USC -6.5. This game has a chance to get ugly, much the way many of these types of marquee games have for Nebraska in recent times.
Thoughts?
