A pair of teams that had aspirations to make the first-ever 12-team football playoff will have to settle with playing against each other when the USC Trojans (6-6) square off against the Texas A&M Aggies (8-4) on Friday at the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl.
The Trojans found life in the Big Ten hard during their first season. With a schedule that featured four teams ranked inside the top 20, USC stumbled after going 3-1 to start the season. The Trojans won two consecutive games against Nebraska and UCLA to become bowl eligible.
Texas A&M started the season hot, winning seven straight games after their opening-day loss to Notre Dame. The Aggies finished on a sour note, dropping three of their final four games to miss out on the SEC Championship game and their first-ever NCAA playoff appearance.
With the transfer portal playing a role in this contest, which team should prevail in Las Vegas on Friday? We’ll cover that and our three-favorite player prop bets below.
Texas A&M Aggies QB Marcel Reed OVER 194.5 Passing Yards
Marcel Reed took over the Texas A&M starting role midway through the 2024 season from Conner Weigman. While he was ineffective at times, the sensation freshman clearly showed why he assumed the starting role.
Through 10 appearances this season, Reed completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,572 passing yards and 12 touchdowns against four interceptions. He also ran for 501 yards and six touchdowns on 107 carries.
USC’s defense will be missing several key players thanks to the transfer portal. With the Aggies looking to build off their strong 2024 campaign, expect Reed to eclipse this player prop bet and help the Aggies move the football down the field with ease Friday night.
USC Trojans QB Jayden Maiava OVER 250.5 Passing Yards
During the season, the Trojans turned to sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava to right the ship. He did just that against Nebraska and UCLA, and he threw for 360 yards against Notre Dame’s tough defense to help USC be competitive against the Fighting Irish.
Bettors should expect he’ll continue his torrid pace against the Aggies. Texas A&M will have multiple starters from this year’s stout defense sitting out this contest, giving him an opportunity to exceed 250 yards with ease on Friday.
Texas A&M Aggies RB Amari Daniels OVER 86.5 Rushing Yards
For four straight games, junior running back Amari Daniels led the Aggies in rushing yards after sharing the backfield duties with Le’Veon Moss. In the Las Vegas Bowl, Daniels should get his time to shine with Moss skipping the game.
When Daniels led the team in carries, the running back finished with more than 83 yards in four straight games. There’s little reason to believe that USC will prose much of a challenge for him or the Aggies, giving bettors confidence in taking the over on this player prop.
Best Bet: Texas A&M (-4)
The Aggies did not end their season on a high note, losing in four overtimes to Auburn and a 10-point decision to Texas. Still, Texas A&M proved that the program is trending in the right direction under its first-year coach Mike Elko.
Elko will get a chance to end the season with a strong takedown of another big-branded college football team. Expect the Aggies to lay waste to the Trojans on Friday night despite having several players on their defensive unit sitting this one out.
