Men of troy -4.5

USC -4.5 is the buy-low you wait for. The “Riley traveling East” narrative has dragged this spread into discount territory after a week of Nebraska tickets, but context matters: the Trojans’ floor is their offense, and that travels. With the number bet down, you’re grabbing the better roster, the better QB room, and the deeper skill talent at a price that assumes USC stumbles out of bed. That’s the market baking in fear, not reality.

Matchup-wise, USC should own the script. The Trojans can run it downhill and horizontally, stressing a Nebraska front that’s been leaky in fits and starts and doesn’t consistently finish tackles. When USC gets the ground game going, the RPO/shot-play menu opens and the tempo snowballs—exactly the kind of rhythm that turns a one-score game into a two-score lid-lifter late. Huskers will fight, but once the explosives start landing, it’s another long Saturday in Lincoln. Ruhle just got extended; by sundown, folks will be wondering if that was wise. USC -4.5.