Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs USC Trojans Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/12/2026

Game Time: 11:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Venue:  LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  ULL +31.5, USC -31.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  ULL +31.5, USC -31.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  ULL +31.5, USC -31.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns:  1-0 (0-0) (1st place, Sun Belt West)

USC Trojans:  2-0 (0-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

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Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns:  won their last game at home against the Lamar Cardinals 38-7.

USC Trojans:  won their last game at home against the Fresno State Bulldogs 39-0.

Louisiana-Lafayette is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Lamar 38-7. Lunch Winfield was the starting QB and he completed 16/22 passes for 189 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Darrell Smith led the team in rushing yards with 84 and 2 TDs. Caden Jensen led the receivers with 77 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Brent Gordon Jr. led the defense in that game with 7 tackles while Avery Demery and Tito Chikere each led the defense in sacks with 1. Brent Gordon Jr., Jake St. Andre, and Kody Jackson each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

USC is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Fresno State 39-0. Jayden Maiava was the starting QB and he completed 23/25 passes for 349 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Waymond Jordan led the team in rushing yards with 67 and 1 TD. Trent Mosley led the receivers with 104 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 2 TDs. Deven Bryant led the defense in that game with 4 tackles while Kennedy Urlacher led the defense in sacks with 2. Prophet Brown came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have USC listed as a 31.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. USC has a 2-0 record overall this season and already has 2 games under their belt from playing in week 0. They haven't really been challenged in either game, but they did play 2 FBS programs and neither game was ever close. The offense looked great in week 0 as they put up over 50 points and the defense wasn't great, giving up a lot of points late to San Jose State, but they fixed some of that last week. The offense didn't look as good with only 39 points put up, but their was definitely an emphasis on better defense and they shut out Fresno State. Now they have 1 last tune-up game before the schedule starts to get tougher with conference play starting, so look for them to put together a complete performance on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, Louisiana has a 1-0 record overall this season after beating up on a team from the FCS in their season opener. ULL has been a solid program in the Sun Belt over the last few years, so they definitely aren't a bad team by any stretch, but they still don't have nearly as much talent as USC has. They have to travel out West for this game too which isn't going to help and even though their defense looked good in week 1, their offense had trouble putting up points against Lamar. USC has an improved defense this season too and they looked great in their last one, so they aren't going to make this easy for ULL and ULL doesn't have the talent on defense to stop USC. Look for USC to continue rolling in this one as they look to prove themselves as a possible CFP contender this year. The best way to place a bet here is on USC to cover the spread in this game. 

Louisiana USC Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 12, 2026 (11:00 pm ET start time) is USC 49 ULL 14.

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Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns: 8-4 ATS in road lined games. 5-2 ATS as a road underdog. 8-5 ATS after playing a game at home. 8-4 OVER in road lined games. 

USC Trojans: 4-8 ATS off a home win. 2-6 ATS after scoring 37 points or more last game. 5-9 ATS after playing a game at home. 4-1 OVER after allowing 14 points or less last game.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns:  L. Strother (WR) Out - Shoulder. T. Chaney (WR) Out - Shoulder. S. Sampson Jr. (WR) Out - Knee.

USC Trojans:  T. Ashcraft (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Tezeno (WR) Questionable - Foot. T. Anderson (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. S. Huard (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Ison (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. O'Connor (OG) Out - Undisclosed.

"I'm crushed for both of them. Both were walk-ons who had earned their opportunity to get on the field Saturday. Hayden Darbonne was playing a really big role for us on special teams." - Michael Desormeaux on injuries after his team’s win against lamar in their last game. 

“Pretty complete game from the team. Very excited about how we finished it off.” - Lincoln Riley after his team’s win against Fresno State in their last game. 

WR Sampson Jr., Shelton

WR Wade, KeDarius

WR Chaney, Trenton

TE Jensen, Caden

QB Winfield, Lunch

RB Smith, Darrell

WR Simms, Corey

WR Dixon-Wyatt, Kayden

WR Mosley, Trent

TE Bowman, Mark

QB Maiava, Jayden

RB Jordan, Waymond

Passing: Lunch Winfield (189)

Rushing: Darrell Smith (84)

Receiving: Jayden Reed (114)

Touchdowns: Jayden Reed (2)

Passing: Jayden Maiava (635)

Rushing: Waymond Jordan (115)

Receiving: Trent Mosley (222)

Touchdowns: Trent Mosley (3)

Coaches:

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns: Michael Desormeaux (5th season)

USC Trojans: Lincoln Riley (5th season)