Notre Dame will look to secure its spot in the College Football Playoff with a strong showing on the road in the team’s regular season finale against USC.
The Trojans have been integrating in new quarterback Jayden Maiava in a trial run to see if he can secure the job next season for USC. How will he handle an elite defense in Notre Dame, but one that has been lightly tested? Maiava highlights our favorite player props for this Week 13 showdown.
Jeremiyah Love UNDER 78.5 Rushing Yards
Love has seen his production fluctuate throughout the year, but of late he has emerged as the bellcow back, rushing for over 100 yards in the last two games.
However, this will be a difficult matchup for Love against a USC defense that has been much improved this season against the run. The team is hovering around the national average in rush defense and Notre Dame has not been shy to rotate in different players at running back as well as use Riley Leonard in the run game.
Love averages only 11 rushes per game, so he’s going to need an explosive run or two to get over this lofty mark that has adjusted up quite a bit.
Jayden Maiava OVER 235.5 Passing Yards
Maiava has passed the ball 35 times in each game, and while this is an incredibly sturdy Notre Dame passing defense, I do question the level of competition it has seen this season.
This will be the best passing offense that ND has seen, behind arguably Louisville, and I believe that Lincoln Riley empties the playbook in this game to test a secondary that is also battling injuries. The Fighting Irish haven’t had its top cornerback Benjamin Morrison the last few week.
Maiava has gone over this number once in two tries, with the other landing on 221. This is right around his median outcome and given a potentially pass-happy game script, I think we see Maiava hit enough big plays to get over this total.