The Nevada Wolf Pack take on the USC Trojans. Check out our college football odds series for our Nevada USC prediction and pick. Find how to watch Nevada USC.

The USC Trojans won their first game of the 2023 college football season by 28 points. They won 56-28 over San Jose State. That might seem like a perfectly good performance, but the Trojans allowed big plays to San Jose State's offense, which raises concerns about what the Trojans will do when they face Washington and Michael Penix or Oregon and Bo Nix. USC's defense showed some signs of potential, but the weaknesses and limitations on this side of the ball are still readily apparent for the Trojans, who lost three games last season in which they allowed 43 or more points to the opposition. Allowing 28 to San Jose State certainly invites the possibility that the Trojans will give up 40 or more to the best teams in the Pac-12 plus Notre Dame, whom they play in the middle of October. USC's defense has to find a way to continuously improve and show that it can become respectable and competent. No one is expecting the USC defense to dominate opponents, but if the Trojans can field a top-50 scoring defense in college football, the fact that they have reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at quarterback means their offense should be able to win a lot of games. USC did not have a top-80 defense last year, so merely being No. 45 or 48 in the country could make a significant positive difference for this team as the 2023 season continues.

Here are the Nevada-USC College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Nevada-USC Odds

Nevada Wolf Pack: +38.5 (-110)

USC Trojans: -38.5 (-110)

Over: 66.5 (-110)

Under: 66.5 (-110)

How To Watch Nevada vs. USC

TV: Pac-12 Network

Stream: Pac-12 Now

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT

*Watch Nevada vs USC LIVE on fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Why Nevada Could Cover the Spread

You saw the USC defense give up big plays to San Jose State last week. With the point spread being close to 40, Nevada just needs 21 points to very likely cover the spread. USC could score more than 60, but the Trojans would have to be perfect to do that. Moreover, USC will want to play its backup quarterbacks midway through the second half to give them necessary work in the service of player development for 2024, when the Trojans will move to the Big Ten without Caleb Williams. USC will probably step off the gas pedal in the second half, and that will allow Nevada to cover. As long as the Wolf Pack score a few touchdowns, the odds of the visitors covering the spread should be relatively high.

Why USC Could Cover the Spread

The USC defense struggled at times against San Jose State, but the Trojans shouldn't struggle that much against Nevada. To provide some specific context here, San Jose State was picked to finish fifth in preseason Mountain West media polls. Nevada was picked to finish 11th. That's a significant gap between those two teams in terms of expected quality. If USC beat the fifth-place pick in the Mountain West by 28, it should beat the 11th-place pick by a lot more than 28, not just a little. USC is probably 49 to 56 points better than Nevada, and after the bumpy ride on defense in the last game, USC's defense is going to be even more focused for this contest. It could become a bloodbath by the time it's over.

Final Nevada-USC Prediction & Pick

The over cashed for USC-San Jose State at 66.5 last week. The game featured 84 total points and easily hit the over. You should go back to the well this week. USC will score at least 56 points. As long as Nevada scores at least 13, this game should hit the over.

Final Nevada-USC Prediction & Pick: Over 66.5