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Best Bet: Ohio State -6 (-113) at BetRivers
Score Prediction: Ohio State 28, USC 21
The Pick: Ohio State 28, USC 21
We’ll take Ohio State’s spread based on both school’s 2026 stats and Ohio State’s data points as a Top 5 AP ranked school – but conviction is very low.
Game Betting Analysis
This is by far the scariest game to wager on, not just in college football but possibly the entire sporting slate for Halloween – fitting. What makes this such a horror show to bet on? Ohio State’s quarterback is out for a while, and so the most important position on the field is relatively unknown for the Buckeyes at the moment. It doesn’t get easier going across the country to face a team coming off a loss. Adding to the game’s trick over treat, the betting odds don’t seem to have made much of an impact with a touchdown spread in favor of Ohio State. Oy vey. A road team favored by a touchdown with a shaky quarterback spot? What makes this a true Halloween scare is the betting data, of course, points to Ohio State. Great. The Buckeyes have covered seven of eight road games as a Top 5 AP ranked school, entering Los Angeles with a 5-2 ATS mark on the season while USC is just a lowly 2-6 ATS in 2026. So if these data points hold true, it seems the Buckeyes’ defense will need to be the best unit on the field. This will be the scariest thing you watch on Halloween if you bet it, regardless of what movie you turn on – Happy Halloween!
Ohio State-USC Odds (Spread, Moneyline, Over/Under)
Deciding Factor: Ohio State’s Elite Defense vs. Luke Fahey’s Trial by Fire
Ohio State enters 6-1 and ranked No. 2 behind one of the most dominant defenses in the country: 13.4 points allowed per game, just 264.0 total yards allowed (93.0 rushing at a stingy 3.11 yards per carry, 171.0 passing), and 10 takeaways (4 interceptions, 6 recovered fumbles) through seven games. That unit was the backbone of a 19-15 win over then-No. 5 Indiana on Oct. 17, holding Josh Hoover and the Hoosiers to a single offensive touchdown until a desperate, ultimately unsuccessful final drive. It will need to be every bit that good again, because Ohio State is heading to the Coliseum without Heisman finalist Julian Sayin, who suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury on a fourth-quarter sack against Indiana — after throwing two interceptions in that game, his second straight multi-pick outing — and is being replaced by true freshman Luke Fahey, a Southern California native making his first career start in his own homecoming.
The USC Trojans, meanwhile, arrive at 6-2 off a deeply discouraging performance of their own: a 24-7 loss to Wisconsin in which the offensive line allowed five sacks, quarterback Jayden Maiava was pressured 17 times on 55 dropbacks and threw two interceptions, and USC finished with just 200 total yards and -17 rushing yards on 25 carries — the first time in Lincoln Riley’s decade as a head coach that one of his offenses failed to reach double digits. Maiava has now thrown three interceptions over his last two games (both losses, to Oregon and Wisconsin) after just two across his first six, and an offensive line that’s already been exposed now draws a defense allowing only 93.0 rushing and 171.0 passing yards per game. If Ohio State’s defense plays anything like it did against Indiana, a true freshman making his first start should have more than enough cover; but if Fahey struggles the way unproven passers often do in a hostile true road environment, a USC team that just watched its own quarterback get rattled by pressure could find the extra life it needs to pull the upset.
Game Information
- Date: Saturday, October 31, 2026
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Network: NBC, Peacock
- Venue: LA Memorial Coliseum – 60 ppg; 3-2 O/U
- Conference: Big Ten
Key Players
Ohio State
- RB, Bo Jackson — Last Game: 18 carries, 56 yards
- WR, Jeremiah Smith — Last Game: 4 catches, 68 yards, TD
USC
- QB, Jayden Maiava — Last Game: 31/50, 257 yards, TD, 2 INT
- WR, Trent Mosley — Last Game: 5 catches, 45 yards
Photo Credit: REUTERS
