Cotton Bowl Betting Odds: Will USC Trojans Focus After Missing CFP Berth?

American Athletic Conference Champions Look to Cap a Remarkable 2022

Heisman Trophy Winner Williams Planning to Play in the Cotton Bowl

When it was announced that Southern California would face Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, there were plenty of questions surrounding the availability of Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

Williams said he plans to suit up for USC and that is just one of the reasons why the Cotton Bowl betting odds favor the Trojans. He will be facing a Tulane team that is in the top 20 in defensive passing efficiency.

USC was in a position to earn one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff field before falling to Utah in the Pac-12 championship game. It is fair to ask how important this game will be to the Trojans as they were hoping to be playing for a national title.

There wasn’t much in the way of NFL draft prospects opting out of the game or others hitting the transfer portal. USC linebacker Ralen Goforth has transferred to Washington and that is the biggest name of the college football players who won’t suit up for non-injury reasons.

USC is 10th and Tulane 16th in the College Football Playoff rankings. Each team is two spots higher in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Game Information

Tulane Green Wave(11-2) vs Southern California Trojans(11-2)

Date & Time & Streaming:
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Streaming: Live Stream Sports

Strength vs Strength in Cotton Bowl

The defense carried Tulane during an improbable run to the American Athletic Conference title after posting a 2-10 record a season ago.

Tulane came up with 19 takeaways in the 11 wins and none in the two losses. This will be quite the test for the Green Wave. Even with those numbers, the Cotton Bowl betting odds list Tulane as the underdog.

Don’t expect much help from the Trojans as USC committed just six turnovers, the fewest in the nation.

Receiver Tahl Washington (45 catches, 676 yards), defensive back Latrell McCutchin and tight end Lake McRee are among the Texas natives set to return home.

Tulane recruits more vigorously in the state of Texas than USC. Safety Larry Brooks (84 tackles, two interceptions), defensive linemen Keith Cooper (3.5 sacks) and Devean Deal (29 tackles), as well as tight end Tyrick James (25 catches) are among key Tulane players from Texas.

More Than One QB To Watch

While more attention will be focused in the direction of USC quarterback Caleb Williams, don’t overlook Michael Pratt and the role he played in one of the best turnarounds in major college football history.

Pratt has thrown for 2,776 yards with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 64.5% of his passes. His strong play isn’t enough for the USC vs Tulane odds to favor the Green Wave.

Pratt is coming off a season-high 394 passing yards in a win over UCF in the American Athletic Conference title game. Pratt has also run for 10 touchdowns as he teams with Tyjae Spears to give Tulane two dangerous runners in the backfield.

The Green Wave has averaged 259 rushing yards per game over the last five games.

USC Looks To Get Defensive

Even with star running back Travis Dye out for the NCAAF season, USC has an embarrassment of riches on offense with Williams and receiver Jordan Addison leading the way. They are major reasons why the Trojans are favored according to the Cotton Bowl betting odds.

The bigger issue in the two losses has come on the other side of the ball as the Trojans have allowed nearly 550 yards while giving up 66 points in the two losses to Utah.

Utah scored on 10 of 12 drives reaching the red zone with eight of those drives ended with touchdowns. With a month since the last game, it will be worth watching to see how USC has cleaned things up on defense.

USC has been susceptible to big plays, giving up eight plays from scrimmage of at least 50 yards and only 10 ncaaf teams from Power-5 conferences have given up more.

Can Tulane Pull Off Another Upset?

When looking at the NCAAF odds, Tulane has covered in four of its last six bowl games. However, none of those games came against teams from Power-5 conferences.

USC is 1-3 in its last four bowls and has failed to cover in each of the last five.

Tulane has one of the best records against the spread (11-2) and has covered in each of its five games away from home. USC is 8-5 against the spread.

The line opened with USC favored by just one point and it has moved to 2.5. There has been very little change in the total.

Just one of the last seven Cotton Bowls have been finished as one-score games with the higher-ranked team winning each of the last six matchups.
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