This one is known as “The Granddaddy of Them All”, the Pac-12’s Southern California Trojans (9-3) will square off with the Big Ten Champion, Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2) in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. The game will be broadcasted for national audiences on ESPN with a scheduled kick-off time of 5:00 PM ET. These two teams have not met since 2009 where the Trojans and Nittany Lions met in The Rose Bowl with USC winning 38-24.
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Southern California Trojans Overview
Penn State and USC are two of the most storied programs in all of college football. The teams have met on many occasions in both The Rose Bowl and regular season contests scheduled between both parties. USC has won four of the previous seven. For Penn State they come in off a successful acquisition of the Big Ten Championship after they rallied from three scores down against Wisconsin to capture the conference hardware. This is a team that defeated #3 Ohio State in Happy Valley giving the Buckeyes their only defeat this year.
For the Trojans of Southern California or simply known as The Men of Troy, they too come in as one of the hottest teams in America. The most noteworthy achievement of this outfit was handing #4 Washington who qualified for the College Football Playoff by virtue of their Pac-12 Championship their sole defeat this season. The Trojans defeated the Huskies in Seattle.
Penn State vs. USC Betting Trends
- Penn State is 9-3 ATS on the season.
- USC is 8-4 ATS this year.
- USC has won their last 8 overall.
- Penn State has won their last 9 overall.
Public Money Consensus
55% of the public have hopped on the Trojans against the spread, spotting points to the Nittany Lions. USC bears a -115 price tag against the spread while Penn State comes in at -105. On the Money Line, Southern California comes in as a significant -270 favorite compared to PSU who is offered as a +220 underdog. In this market, 89% of the public have gone the other way and taken the Nittany Lions outright. In the Over/Under, 54% of the public like the Under for a line currently sitting at 60.5.
