Cotton Bowl: Tulane vs. USC Odds, Predictions, Picks

As we head into the Cotton Bowl, you can’t help but notice the glaring point spread here. USC is one of the best offenses in the league, but they’re laying only 2.5 or three points, depending on where you look. 

That signals that USC is set to be without several players here, which is exactly what’s happening. 

USC will be without the following players:

• QB Caleb Williams
• WR Jordan Addison
• OL Andrew Vorhees
• C Brett Neilon
• LB Ralen Goforth

Goforth was part of a linebacker rotation, but the other players were high-impact starts, headlined by Williams and Addison. Williams is nursing a hamstring injury while Addison is preparing for the NFL Draft. 

Tulane is without a few players, but mostly due to injury outside of wide receiver Dea Dea McDougle, who will be transferring.

With all that in mind, let’s dive into the best bets. 

Tulane vs. USC Best Bets

Pick: Tulane +2.5 (-105) at FanDuel

This is a tough game to peg with so many key players missing for USC, but we’ll side with Tulane here.

The goal for Tulane this season has been to run the ball with running back Tyjae Spears. He has 214 attempts for nearly 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry. 

The USC defense was not good this season, allowing 415.1 yards per game (101st in the country), with 148.6 of that coming on the ground. 

The month off should help their defense, but there are too many question marks on offense here at USC likely turns the reins over to Miller Moss, who has just 14 attempts all season and is without wide receivers Addison and Michael Jackson III. 

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Pick: Under 65.5 (-110) at Caesars

It almost feels like sacrilege to take an under in a USC game, but the rationale here is simple: Tulane will look to run the ball against a bad defense and keep the ball out of the hands of the Lincoln Riley-led USC offense. However, when USC does get the ball, it’s hard to know what they’ll do with it with so many question marks on offense. 

Does Moss put on a show? It’s hard to know, so we’ll lean under here, especially in the mid-60s. 

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