Whatever you think of Bill Belichick, you have to admit that the New England Patriots are going to be formidable. I don't think they're going to do it almost exclusively by air, as they did last season. In fact, I think the ground game will get quite a bit more emphasis. But even though the winning margins will not be as dramatic, they will win. Don't make any mistake about that.

When I explored the possibility of the Pats going undefeated, I identified three games on the schedule that might be particularly "dangerous" for them:

They could possibly win all three of these games. Certainly- the trip to Seattle, which is may be almost a default winner of the NFC West, is well within their grasp.

The point is, even if they lost all these games, the USC Trojans may have to go undefeated just to keep up with them in this prop.

Mark Sanchez is trying to come back from a dislocated knee, which happened just a couple of weeks ago. Even though Carroll said Sanchez looked "terrific" in drills, one has to wonder whether Sanchez isn't coming back too soon in an attempt to start the opening game. On top of that, remember that Sanchez had to fill in when John David Booty was injured last year, and the Men of Troy looked a little more human when he was at the controls.

USC would appear to be deep at running back, but Joe McKnight, who is seen as the potential star of that group, has battled injuries. First there was a hand injury suffered in a dorm accident, then a hyper-extended elbow. McKnight should be alright, but if such "misadventures," as the Los Angeles Times put it, are in his nature, there are going to be problems.

I guess what I'm saying is that, having lost a lot of talent to the NFL draft, including Sedrick Ellis and Fred Davis, hopes of USC going unbeaten are overly optimistic. Ohio State come out west in the season’s second game. Oregon is also on the schedule, albeit in a home game. UCLA is often a pain in the neck to play. There's the rest of the Pac-10 schedule. And this team slipped up in the game with Stanford last year, even with Booty at quarterback.

Under the circumstances, I don't mind laying a win and a half and -165 with the Patriots in this special BetUS football proposition.

Take the New England -1.5/-165

This Free Opinion is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

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