San Jose State at USC: 9/4/21 College Football Picks and Predictions

The San Jose State Spartans and USC Trojans face off on Saturday in a Week 1 college football showdown at LA Memorial Coliseum. These two teams have played four times before with USC winning all four of the games. 

The San Jose State Spartans opened up their season in Week 0 with a 45-14 victory over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. At the end of the first quarter, San Jose State was up 21-0 and they never looked back as they cruised to the victory. Under center for San Jose State is Nick Starkel and in the first game he threw for 394 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Tyler Nevens also had a big game rushing 12 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. San Jose State was strong, especially against the pass, and they are going to need to be even better on that side of the ball in this game. 

The USC Trojans finished with a 5-1 record overall during the 2020 season and their only loss came during the Pac-12 Championship game against the Oregon Ducks. Kedon Slovis is back as the starter after throwing for 1,921 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. At one time it didn’t look like Slovis would get the chance at USC, but he has done good with his chances. On defense last season, USC gave up 26 points per game which was ranked 47th in college football. Nick Figueroa is the star on defense and last year he led the team with sacks. In this game look for USC to blitz many times, and try to get pressure on Starkel.