Week 5 Betting College Football – Washington vs. USC

Betting college football success this Saturday requires football handicappers to seriously consider backing the Washington Huskies ATS on the road against the USC Trojans this Saturday.

I’ll get to why in a moment, but let me first write that I’m not sold on either one of these teams, the Huskies or the Trojans, doing much in the Pac 10 for, oh, maybe the next 3 or 4 years. Washington’s coach, Steve Sarkisian, a former USC guy, may be drinking his own Kool-Aid thinking that his team has a shot at the Pac 10 title when Oregon, Stanford and Arizona play in the conference.

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 55% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? Find out more exciting details HERE.]

USC coach Lane Kiffin? Every football fan in the United States knows that the dude has been drinking his own Kool-Aid going on 5 years now.

Okay, now I’ll get to why backing the Huskies is a requirement for betting college football success this Saturday.

Washington Huskies vs. USC Trojans

Where: L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles, California

When: October 2 nd, 2010 at 8:00 pm EST

TV: ESPN2/ESPN3.com

NCAAF Betting Lines

Washington Huskies +10 -110

USC Trojans -10 -110

The betting college football trends say that neither team is likely to cover the spread on Saturday.

• The Washington Huskies are 2 and 9 ATS in their last 11 games on the road.
• The Washington Huskies are 1 and 7 ATS in their last 8 games following a double-digit loss at home.
• The USC Trojans are 1 and 8 ATS in their last 9 games following an ATS victory.
• The USC Trojans are 2 and 5 ATS in their last 7 games at home.

Successfully college football betting requires knowing when to back a dog and knowing when not to back a dog. Trust me when I say that football handicappers will want to back Washington’s dogs, the Huskies, in their game versus USC this Saturday.

Washington probably isn’t a better team than USC but they’re better at the most important position, quarterback. USC’s Matt Barkley has thrown 4 picks in his last 4 games. That’s not always the worst thing in the world if those picks occurred against good teams. Barkley didn’t throw his 4 picks against good teams, though. He threw 2 against Minnesota, a team that lost to Northern Illinois recently, and 2 against Washington State, simply one of the worst sports teams in college sports history.

What’s even more disturbing in regards to USC is this: the Trojans’ D haven’t given up less than 307 yards this season. Hawaii produced an amazing 588 total yards against the freakin’ Trojans’ D, Virginia 340, Minnesota 307 and Washington State, yes, Washington State, amassed 323 yards.

The Washington Huskies average 209.7 passing yards and 159.3 rushing yards per game. QB Jake Locker has thrown for 626 yards and 6 touchdowns with only 2 picks so far this season and he’s done it against better teams than the ones that USC has faced like BYU, Syracuse and Nebraska.

I just don’t see how the Trojans cover this wagering spread. USC’s D is woeful and their QB has been making mistakes against more inferior teams than the one he faces this Saturday. Washington is by no means a great team. Heck, they aren’t even a good team, but USC is a mess.

With all of that talent to work with, the coaching staff at USC hasn’t figured out how to keep teams from amassing yards and getting into the end zone against them. The Trojans haven’t been able to cover spreads against such historically significant college football teams (I’m being facetious, of course!) as Hawaii and Virginia and barely covered the spread, by a ½ a point, against Minnesota.

USC is more comfortable trying out score teams than playing defense but outscoring Washington is not going to be easy to do. Betting college football success means knowing when to back the dogs. In this case the dogs to back are Huskies.

I’m taking the points and going with Washington in this game.

 NCAAF Betting Pick: Washington Huskies +10 -110

Start betting college football in the sportsbook!