This article is part of our College Football Picks series.
USC 
vs Notre Dame Betting Breakdown and Picks
USC welcomes Notre Dame this week as the Trojans look to keep their national championship hopes alive. USC is coming in off a classic shootout over crosstown rival UCLA, a game in which USC simply outscored its opponent. Can they do the same thing this week? Notre Dame looks to finish on a high note after what has been a very uneven season.
USC vs Notre Dame Odds for Week 13
Spread: USC -5.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Total: 64.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Moneyline: USC -205; Notre Dame +180 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
USC opened at -6.5, so you can see the early money has come in on the Irish. I'm not sure if this is a result of a perceived favorable match-up for Notre Dame or the assumption that USC is likely gassed after its game against UCLA this past week. The total has seen much more movement as it opened in the high-50s and skyrocketed into the mid-60s. This is definitely a reaction to USC's game this past week.
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USC vs Notre Dame Betting Picks This Week
Talk about a tough game to predict. USC left it all out there this past week against UCLA, will the Trojans have enough left in the tank this week? Notre Dame has looked like a top-10 team at times this season, yet the Irish have also played like an unranked team at certain points. This game really boils down to USC's defense vs. Notre Dame's offense. USC is going to score plenty of points (not as much as this past week) but can the Trojans slow down Notre Dame on offense? I think the defense does enough to win the game, but not cover. Notre Dame has found a strong ground game over the past two months and the result has been a lot of points scored. The Irish will get their points here too, enough to cover the number. As such, I'm siding with Notre Dame +4.5 and over 63.5. There's too much on the line for USC to let up here, though so the money line play is USC -205. I'm not overly fond of that price, however.
Best Bets for USC vs Notre Dame: Notre Dame +4.5; Over 63.5
USC vs Notre Dame Prediction
I'm expecting this game to play out a lot like last week's game against UCLA except not quite as crazy. Dorian Thompson-Robinson was responsible for a lot of the points that UCLA scored this past week and Notre Dame does not have anyone resembling DTR on the roster, so it will rely on the run game to move the ball, which it will, with relative ease. USC might be a little sluggish to start, but it will find its groove at some point, and then it's on. USC should find a comfortable lead at some point and then it's just a matter of hanging on. Notre Dame is a much better front-runner than a chaser, so if the Trojans get out early, it could get away from the Irish.
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