Article Written By: Justin Pollock
When: Saturday, December 21, at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV
Watch: ABC
Over/Under: 63 points
Spread: USC (-7)
Saturday, December 21 Las Vegas is not only going to be known as the party city or known for “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”, because what happens between the winner of 11-1 No. 20 Fresno State Bulldogs and the 9-4 No. 25 USC Trojans is going to bring home everything from Las Vegas and that includes the Royal Purple Las Vegas trophy. USC’s new head coach Steve Sarkisian, former Washington Head coach, was hired after Ed Orgeron found out he wasn’t selected for the head coaching position on December 3, 2013. Steve lead the Huskies to a 8-4 record and the Huskies are set to play BYU in the Fight Hunger Bowl December 27, 2013.
Last season, the Trojans finished the season in a bowl game losing to Gerogia Tech 21-7 in the Sun Bowl. As for the Fresno State Bulldogs, they have had head coach Tim Deruyter for two seasons going 20-5(.800) overall. The Bulldogs finished last season with a lose to SMU in the Hawaii Bowl 43-10. The all time record against these two schools dating back to 1850 is tied at one a piece. The Bulldogs come out of the Mountain West with a record of 7-1 and the Trojans are out of the Pac-12 with a combined record this season of 6-3. The two impact players from each teams are Fresno State’s QB Derek Carr and USC’s Nelson Agholor. David Carr is currently projected to go first in the 2014 NFL Draft next year and he should go in the first round with the stats he gathered this season more than 4,800 yards 48 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions on 605 attempts. As for the wide receiver for USC Nelson Agholor, he took over for Marquise Lee’s spot as he has been battling a season injury all year. Agholor did an incredible job of filling in when he had the sophomore accumulated 824 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Other impact players to watch for both teams are Buck Allen running back for the Trojans who has rush for 699 yards and 12 touchdowns, WR Davante Adams for the Bulldogs has 122 catches for 1,645 yards and 23 touchdowns on the season. As a team overall, the Bulldogs are ranked 2nd ranked offense in FBS with 622.5 yards per game and 3rd with 47.5 yards per game, their offense is going to be put to the test as they face the 12th ranked defense in FBS only allowing 341.4 yards per game.
Predictions:
With the Trojans under new coach Steve Sarkisian, they are going to need a bit of time to adjust to the new style of play and the Bulldogs are going to take advantage of that. Derek Carr has a big game record in 350 or more passing yards and 4 or more touchdowns. Bulldogs get the upset and win the 2013 Las Vegas bowl
Fresno State: 34-27
