USC vs. Syracuse

A decade or so ago, this would have been a huge matchup. But, the fall of Syracuse football since that time has been steep and consistent. At one time this program was playing in a big Bowl every season but the Cuse has made one minimal Bowl appearance in the last seven years. USC is loaded and ready, and anything short of a National Championship will be a disappointing season in their eyes. They dominated a Hawaii team 49-10 last week, controlling every aspect of the game. Hawaii always brings a big offense, but the Trojans were not fazed, holding them to less than 5 yards per pass attempt on 52 throws. Matt Barkley stayed away from the lure of big money in the NFL draft to come back to win a championship. He may also be in the Heisman hunt with 4 TDs and 372 yards on just 38 throws last week his resume is already being built. Syracuse lost to a bad Northwestern team last week, and are very over-matched on both sides here. The Orange are now 1-10 ATS after 280 passing yards or less in their previous game. This one gets ugly early. Play on USC.