Lane Kiffin’s first season at USC saw the beleaguered program post an 8-5 record, its worst mark since 2001. Last year the team, while still prohibited from participating in a conference championship game or postseason bowl, found its way to double digit wins with a 10-2 finish. The Trojans 2011 turnaround coupled with the return of quarterback Matt Barkley (the Heisman favorite at 7-2 odds) has many expecting huge things from this year’s USC squad. Southern Cal is not only a favorite to win the Pac 12 (2-3 odds), but according to recently released USC Trojans 2012 Season Odds, the school is also favored to win the BCS National Championship at 19-4 odds ($100 wins $475). Offshore odds maker 5Dimes is expecting another 10 plus win season as well with the Over 9.5 wins for USC presently drawing  odds that $280 wins $100. 

At first glance it may seem as though the odds makers and betting public are overreacting to the Trojans 2011 season, saddling the program with overzealous expectations; however, a review of the team’s performance down the stretch would indicate it could be in for a special season. 

USC started slow last year, despite winning three of its first four games. The team looked lackluster in wins over Minnesota and Utah and it lost in horrible fashion (22-43) to an Arizona State team that tanked down the stretch. The Trojans got it together after the Sun Devils setback, though, as their only loss the rest of the way came in a three overtime thriller against No. 4 Stanford. USC averaged 42.5 points per game in its final four games, outscoring its opposition (which included a hosting Oregon team) by an average of 25.3 points per contest.

This year the Trojans get Oregon, California, and Notre Dame at home while their toughest road games appear to be at Stanford, Utah, and UCLA. Still, USC is favored in those six games by an average of 13.4 points. 

USC Trojans 2012 Schedule: 9/1 Hawai’i, 9/8 Syracuse (neutral site) (-21), 9/15 at Stanford (-7.5), 9/22 California (-24), 10/4 at Utah (-14), 10/13 at Washington (-19), 10/20 Colorado (-34), 10/27 at Arizona (-14), 11/3 Oregon (-6), 11/10 Arizona State (-27), 11/17 at UCLA (-16), 11/24 Notre Dame (-13)

USC Trojans 2012 Season Odds and Schedule:

Odds to Win the BCS National Championship 19-4 ($100 wins $475)
Odds to Win the Pac 12 Championship 2-3 ($150 wins $100)
Odds to Win the Pac 12 South 1-5 ($500 wins $100)
Regular Season Win Total: Over 9.5 wins (-280), Under 9.5 wins (+200)

 Golden Nuggets 2012 Games of Year College Football Spreads: Pregame.com Pros Scott Spreitzer & Bryan Leonard discuss the Golden Nuggets' 2012 College Football Games of Year betting!

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  TiSB: Cantor's Mike Colbert Talks World's First NFL Game Lines: Last week Cantor opened up the first 2012 NFL lines in the world - Cantor's VP Mike Colbert discussess the teams they value the best and worst, and also shares breaking news on how the Wiseguys have been betting so far - with host RJ Bell PLAY | DISCUSS | DOWNLOAD (to save: right mouse click, and select "save target as")