Texas A&M Aggies vs USC Trojans Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/27/2024

Game Time: 10:30 pm ET, Friday, December 27, 2024

Venue:  Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  TAMU -3.5, USC +3.5; Over/Under:  52 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  TAMU -3.5, USC +3.5; Over/Under:  52 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  TAMU -3.5, USC +3.5; Over/Under:  51.5 points

Texas A&M Aggies:  8-4 (5-3) (8th place, SEC)

USC Trojans:  6-6 (4-5) (10th place, Big Ten)

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Texas A&M Aggies:  lost their last game at home against the Texas Longhorns 17-7.

USC Trojans:  lost their last game at home against the Notre Dame Fighting irish 49-35.

Texas A&M is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 5-3 record in their conference games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 2-2 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Texas 17-7. Marcel Reed was the starting QB and he completed 16/23 passes for 146 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Marcel Reed led the team in rushing yards with 60. Terry Bussey led the receivers with 40 receiving yards on 2 receptions. Dalton Brooks led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Taurean York led the defense in sacks with 1. Will Lee III came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

USC is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 4-5 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 1-4 in their road games, and they are also 1-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Notre Dame 49-35. Jayden Maiava was the starting QB and he completed 27/48 passes for 360 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Quinten Joyner led the team in rushing yards with 83. Makai Lemon led the receivers with 133 receiving yards on 9 receptions. Jaylin Smith led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Jamil Muhammad and Kameryn Fountain each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Texas A&M listed as a 3.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Texas A&M has looked good in their games this season with their 8-4 record overall and their 5-3 conference record which has them right near the top of the SEC. They started to lose some steam near the end of the season, losing their last game to Texas 17-7, but they were on top of the SEC for a lost of the regular season as Mike Elko has been turning this program around in his first season. He will be looking to build on the year they had and finish strong with a bowl win in his first year. Meanwhile, USC has looked good in their games this season with their 6-6 record overall which was enough to get them to this game, but their 4-5 conference record has them in the bottom half of the Big Ten. This was their first season being in the Big Ten, but they fell short of the mark, and once again they didn't have the big season they were expected to have. Their defense improved this year but was still a problem in a lot of their games, and the offense didn't look as good with the new QB either. They ended the regular season with a 49-35 loss to Notre Dame and Lincoln Riley has been struggling to get this team off the ground since going there. Texas A&M ended the regular season with some bad losses, but they were a force in the SEC for a lot of the year and they will want to end the year with a positive for their first year head coach. Texas A&M also has the edge on defense, coming off a game which they held a Texas team that went to the SEC Championship to just 17 points. The best way to place a bet here is on Texas A&M to cover the spread in this game. 

Texas A&M USC Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 27, 2024 (10:30 pm ET start time) is Texas A&M 23 USC 13.

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Texas A&M Aggies: 12-22 ATS in all lined games. 2-9 ATS off a loss against a conference rival. 0-5 ATS after 2 or more consecutive straight up losses. 4-1 1H OVER after a bye week. 8-4 1H OVER vs. good passing teams averaging 250 or more passing yards/game. 7-4 1H OVER versus good rushing teams - averaging 4.75 rushing yards/carry or more.

USC Trojans: 4-1 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points. 7-4 ATS in non-conference games. 6-2 1H ATS as an underdog. 26-12 OVER in all lined games. 9-1 OVER after allowing 37 points or more last game. 15-5 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Texas A&M Aggies:  C. Bisontis (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Chappell (DB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Henderson (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Hill (DB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Allen (WR) Out - Arm. L. Moss (RB) Out - Leg. M. Nabou (OL) Out - Knee.

USC Trojans:  G. Quinones (OL) Out - Undisclosed. S. Tuliaupupu (DE) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Ross (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Peterson (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Lucas (DE) Out - Lower Body. E. Gentry (LB) Out - Redshirt. R. Davis (LB) Out - Undisclosed.

“We just didn’t play well enough on offense at all to have any chance at having success.” - Mike Elko after his team’s loss against Texas in their regular season finale. 

“We had a couple of opportunities to make some competitive plays there in the second half, and they made a couple more of them. We’ve made massive progress on defense in every way you can measure it, but certainly today wasn’t our best.” - Lincoln Riley after his team’s loss against Notre Dame in their regular season finale.

WR Thomas, Noah

WR Walker, Jahdae

WR Barber, Jabre  

TE Watson, Tre 

QB Reed, Marcel

RB Daniels, Amari 

WR Lane, Ja'Kobi

WR Ford, Kyle

WR Lemon, Makai 

WR Fair, Jay 

TE McRee, Lake 

QB Maiava, Jayden

RB Jackson, Bryan

Passing: M. Reed (1572)

Rushing: L. Moss (769)

Receiving: N. Thomas (545)

Touchdowns: L. Moss (10)

Passing: M. Moss (2555)

Rushing: W. Marks (1133)

Receiving: M. Lemon (665)

Touchdowns: W. Marks (9)

Coaches:

Texas A&M Aggies: Mike Elko (1st season)

USC Trojans: Lincoln Riley (3rd season)