Lee Corso is going against the betting public and ESPN Analytics in a major rivalry showdown.

No. 10 USC travels to South Bend to face No. 21 Notre Dame. The Irish have 2 losses already on the season, but are favored on Saturday. USC is a 3-point underdog. ESPN’s Football Power Index agrees with the betting line, giving the Trojans only a 38.2% chance of winning.

Corso, however, is confident in Lincoln Riley’s team. Ahead of Saturday’s “College GameDay” from Seattle, Kirk Herbstreri got Corso to share a couple of early picks.

“USC has got one of the top 3 or 4 offenses in the nation and one of the top below-50 defenses. They’ll outscore the Irish,” Corso said.

Not many fans or analysts join Corso in seeing the USC defense as a strength. Alex Grinch’s unit has been heavily criticized for its efforts in the 2023 season. Riley recently pushed back on that criticism, saying the media had a preconceived notion and was waiting to pounce.

USC won last year’s meeting 38-27 at home. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 48-37-5.

Saturday’s showdown is set for 4:30 p.m. PT, airing on NBC.