A pair of unbeatens in the Big Ten go head-to-head Saturday night when the USC Trojans host the Michigan State Spartans.
The Trojans have demolished their early-season slate, while MSU has repeated its 3-0 start from a year ago – and it's about the time the wheels fell off that promising campaign.
Read on for our free Michigan State vs. USC college football picks for Saturday, September 20.
Michigan State vs USC props for Week 4
Maiava o279.5 passing yards (-114)- Lemon o83.5 receiving yards (-114)
Chiles o213.5 passing yards (-114)
Prop bet #1: Jayden Maiava Over 279.5 passing yards
It's been a blistering start to the year for USC Trojans junior quarterback Jayden Maiava, who is just short of 1,000 yards passing through three games.
After throwing for over 400 yards against Georgia Southern, Maiava followed it up with 282 yards in a 33-17 win over Purdue. While he failed to throw a TD pass for the first time, he ran in his second TD of the year.
He's primed for a biggie Saturday, as the Michigan State Spartans are the worst passing defense in the Big Ten, surrendering better than 273.3 yards per contest.
Maiava has topped his 279.5 line in each of the first three games of the season, and for a guy completing nearly 69% of his passes in the early going, he should be able to pick apart this porous defense.
Prop bet #2: Makai Lemon Over 83.5 receiving yards
Hand-in-hand with Maiava lighting up the Spartans should be his top target, Makai Lemon.
The junior has been well fed through three games, with 16 grabs for 311 yards and two touchdowns, and averaging a healthy 19.4 yards per catch. He went for at least 90 yards receiving in the first two games, but was slowed by the Boilermakers, with five catches and a season-low 63 yards.
MSU won't be providing much resistance with their struggling pass defense, allowing Lemon to post big numbers against the Spartans.
USC is second in the Big Ten in passing at 364 yards per game, and Lemon should see a chunk of that.
Prop bet #3: Aidan Chiles Over 213.5 passing yards
Michigan State junior QB Aidan Chiles has improved his passing numbers every game. He put up his best total last week, throwing for 270 yards and a score in a 41-24 win over Youngstown State.
Chiles has a modest passing line of 213.5 yards, and he's going up against a USC defense that hasn't given up much on the ground, just 86.3 yards per game.
That will force the Spartans' QB to pass their way to any success. The Trojans aren't as dominant through the air, as they allow more than 233 pass yards per contest, which ranks third-last in the Big Ten.
While you might have to sweat it a little bit to get there, I like Chiles to pass that total for the third straight game.
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