USC vs. Colorado point spread: Picking Trojans vs. Buffaloes

Colorado was humbled by Oregon last weekend, and USC is ready to throw away the scraps.

Vegas doesn’t have much belief in Deion Sanders and company, slotting the Buffaloes as 21.5-point underdogs to reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and the No. 8-ranked Trojans at home.

“I think there’s a real possibility that this looks a little bit like last week,” Ralph Russo told Andy Staples on Wednesday’s edition of Andy Staples On3. “I don’t think USC is as good on both lines [as Oregon], so that’s good for Colorado. That give Colorado the ability to maybe get into a bit of a shootout here. … I think in print I took the 21.5, so I’m going to take the 21.5 with USC winning by 18 or 20.

“I don’t think this is going to be a close game. I think it might playing out similarly, if not an even more comfortable win than they enjoyed vs. Arizona State.”

The Sun Devils were able to keep the game within one score heading into the fourth quarter, but the consistency of the Trojan offense was the deciding factor. They simply couldn’t stop scoring points, which is why Williams and USC has the highest-scoring offense in the country, averaging 55 points per game.

Meanwhile, Colorado was held scoreless until the final three minutes of regulation when Shedeur Sanders completed a six-yard pass to Michael Harrison before the PAT was fittingly blocked. Six punts and a fumble later, and Colorado’s defense ultimately gave up 42 unanswered points

Despite the abysmal performance from Colorado last week, Staples is giving Shedeur and the rest of the Buffs a fighting chance, though he realizes that it’s unlikely the can go the distance with the heavyweight that USC.

“I do think Colorado is going to be able to score points in this game,” Staples said. “I do think USC will be able to name its score in this game, so while I think Colorado might score as many as Arizona State did, they still might lose by three touchdowns, so I’m going to take USC to cover here because I do think that Caleb Williams is going to put on a show.”

A victory for Colorado would erase any criticism the Buffs are still facing for the Oregon game, and earning a win over a College Football Playoff contender would shoot the Buffs right back into the top 25 rankings after the weekend.

Kickoff between the Trojans and Buffaloes is set for Noon ET live on FOX. The over/under total is set at 73.5.