Two of the biggest brands in college football will open their seasons against one another on Sunday as No. 13 LSU takes on No. 23 USC in Las Vegas. Both schools are replacing Heisman winners and have head coaches entering their third years with their programs. LSU has won 10 games each of the last two seasons under Brian Kelly, while USC went 8-5 last year after going 11-3 the prior season under Lincoln Riley. This will be the third-ever meeting between the programs, with them splitting the first two.

Kickoff for the 2024 Modelo Vegas Kickoff Classic is at 7:30 p.m. ET from Allegiant Stadium. The Tigers are 4.5-point favorites in the latest LSU vs. USC odds. The over/under for total points scored is 63.5. Before making any USC vs. LSU picks, or college football predictions, you NEED to hear what football expert Emory Hunt Jr. has to say.

Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007, and a former running back for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. He knows the game from a player's perspective.

In addition, Hunt was 93-78-5 (+777) on his college football picks last year. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, Hunt has analyzed LSU vs. USC from every angle and just locked in his picks and predictions.

Hunt knows that the Tigers were elite offensively last year, ranking first in all of FBS in both points scored and yards gained. While they've had several notable departures from that unit, it still brings back a pair of All-SEC offensive tackles in Will Campbell and Emory Jones Jr. On defense, the Tigers have Preseason All-American LB Harold Perkins Jr., who has racked up 13 tackles for loss in each of the past two seasons.

The expert also has taken into account that USC quarterback Miller Moss is up to the challenge in replacing Caleb Williams. Moss threw a Holiday Bowl-record of six touchdown passes in his first career start last season, which is also a USC bowl record. Moss also has a pair of stud wideouts at his disposal in WR Zachariah Branch, who was the No. 1 overall receiver in the Class of 2023, and in WR Duce Robinson, who was the No. 1 overall tight end in the Class of 2023 before converting to wide receiver.

Now, Hunt has locked in a confident against-the-spread pick for LSU vs. USC. We can tell you he's leaning Under on the total, but he knows a crucial X-factor makes one side of the spread a MUST-BACK. You ABSOLUTELY need to see what it is before locking in any picks of your own.

Who wins USC vs. LSU on Sunday? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the LSU vs. USC spread to jump on, all from the football expert who was 93-78-5 (+777) on his college football picks in 2023!