College Football Week 1 Predictions: Hawaii Warriors vs. USC Trojans

Heisman Trophy candidate Matt Barkley will be making his 37th collegiate start this weekend, as the top-ranked USC Trojans welcome the Hawaii Warriors into the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Sports bettors will find that the Trojans are listed as overwhelming 42-point home favorites in the college football betting odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 63.5 across the board.

Barkley has registered an impressive 27-9 straight-up record as the Trojans' offensive leader, as he comes off a record-setting season, leading Pac-12 Conference quarterbacks in throwing 39 touchdown passes a year ago.

USC is primed to light up the scoreboard in hopes of winning its 15th-straight season opener, as the program has scored at least 49 points in the last four meetings in this series. Total players will find that the Men of Troy have gone OVER the total in seven of 13 home games the past two years.

Hawaii has fallen short in all seven games in this series, but has managed to compile a 29-51 all-time record against current members of the Pac-12, which includes a winning 4-3 mark on the road.

There's no doubt that the home faithful will focus their attention on the visiting sideline on Saturday, as former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow has become the 22nd head football coach at Hawaii.

I suggest proceeding with caution in laying this type of number, as the Trojans are just 7-7 against the spread when favored by 31 or more points in their last 14 opportunities, while the Warriors have covered three of five opportunities when receiving that amount of points.

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