USC Football: Staff predictions for USC vs. Fresno State

The USC Football Trojans begin their 2019 season with a home opener against the 2018 Mountain West Champions, Fresno State.

The USC Football Trojans are entering what could be a transition year for the program. Head coach Clay Helton is definitely on the hot seat and a cold start for USC could lead to Helton getting the boot midway through the year.

Not many people expected Helton to hold onto the USC Football job heading into the season but he was granted one more chance. With a tough start that includes four ranked opponents in the first six games, Helton very well could be without his coaching job but mid-October.

The season starts for the Trojans against the Fresno State Bulldogs, who won the Mountain West Conference last year and finished the year as the 18th-ranked team in the country.

However, the silver lining is that Fresno State lost a lot of starters from last season, including starting quarterback Marcus McMaryion, who threw for over 3,600 yards last season. USC opens as the betting favorites by quite a hefty margin.

Here is who the LA Sports Hub staff thinks is going to emerge victorious in our first (of many) USC Football staff predictions.

Jamaal Artis (0-1): 31-14, USC

The USC Trojans are a favorite to win their season opener at the Coliseum against the Fresno State Bulldogs. It is hard to disagree, quarterback JT Daniels has his freshman season under his belt and was named the starter. Look for him to make use of his weapons in the WR corps.

The USC defense will contain the Bulldogs new QB Jorge Reyna, who is missing experienced WRs from last year. The Trojans cover the 13.5 spread and win by two touchdowns.

Hil Lopez (0-0): 34-27, Fresno State

Last year, USC finished 5-7, en route to a losing season in the PAC-12 Conference and no bowl appearance. Lately, the PAC-12 has been the weakest conference out of the Power 5 conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 10 and Big 12).

It has been tough to count on USC as they were a powerhouse in the 2000s, but have fallen off ever since. This season, they open against the Fresno St. Bulldogs at home.

Fresno St. finished 12-2 overall last year and on top of the Mountain West Conference. This game will not be easy as for USC as they will need to score early and of then against the Bulldogs. If they can get a quick start against Fresno St., they may be able to pull off the upset.

However, in my opinion, USC will not score enough early to win the game. They will be worn down by the Fresno St. defense and will be unable to stop the potent Bulldog offense. USC will lose 34-27.

Redan Lopez (1-0): 31-23, USC

The duel here will be USC’s highly touted and full of potential passing attack against a newly revamped Fresno State defense. Will JT Daniels be able to connect with his receivers, and most importantly, can he get them the ball in the endzone instead of the team kicking field goals?

That will be the biggest challenge for USC as Fresno was the best defensive team in the red zone, stopping 33% of their opponents drives from reaching the endzone.

Although the Bulldogs lost several starters from last year, you can count on them to have defense as their focus for staying in the game. However, with home-field advantage the odds are in the Trojans’ favor.

I think the Trojans’ aerial assault will be too much for the Bulldogs to come back from. Their trips in the red zone will be converted into touchdowns.

Jason Reed (1-0): 27-21, USC

While USC did have a losing record a year ago, they are catching a completely different Fresno State team than we saw last season. If this was the 2018 Bulldogs, then it would be very hard to go with USC in this game.

However, Barrett has more experience and hopefully, that can translate to fewer mistakes. On paper, the Trojans have a better team, but it is impossible for me to trust Clay Helton to put it all together, especially in week 1.

They are going to make some mistakes but are going to do enough to get the win over a Fresno State team that is being underrated.

If I was a betting man I would go with the USC moneyline. However, the 13.5/14 (depending on the source) points that Fresno State is getting is absurd. This will be a close game.