Campus Clash
USC Trojans at (13) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
USC: They are so far removed from the glory days and it could take them some time to get back to being that contender they once were. Let’s be real, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart aren’t walking through that door anytime soon. Entering this season, they were a heavy and projected favorite to win the Pac-12 South and the conference overall. Earlier in the year, the program did what most teams dread during a season and that was make a head coaching change. Clay Helton was relieved of his duties after only two games. In two stints as the head coach of the Trojans, he had a record of 46-24. As a football team, the talent is there for USC. Kedon Slovis is one of the better quarterbacks in the country you don’t hear much about. He plays with great pocket presence and can make all the throws you expect from your quarterback. I often say there’s two types of leaders. The vocal guys and the ones who lead by examples and Kedon falls into the example category. From an offensive standpoint, they can put points up. 32 points a game screams volume if we’re being honest. Their inconsistencies on defense are what is holding them back. As good as the offense is, they can’t get off the field or make the basic defensive plays. On Saturday night, they travel to South Bend.
Notre Dame: It’s been a roller coaster year for them. When they’ve been expected to show flashes of being dominant, they play down to the competition. I remember saying after the Florida State win back in September there would be a game where they’d struggle early on and wouldn’t be able to get back into the game. Look at what happened when they played the Cincinnati Bearcats a few weeks ago because they struggled in that game and everything, I had been mentioning came back to bite them in the you know what. I’m really beginning to question Brian Kelly and his decision making. I’ll try to be as professional as I can when saying this. He needs to stick to one quarterback. Is Jack Coan your guy? Or will you stick with Tyler Buchner or Drew Pyne? I can sit here and say the team rallied around Pyne and he gave them that spark similarly to what you saw with Caleb Williams and the Oklahoma Sooners. Against Virginia Tech, the Irish displayed an up and down performance, but they were able to escape with the win. They could be a playoff team with a little bit of help for the remainder of the season. On Saturday night, they will return home to host a rivalry game.
USC X-Factor: Drake London– He’s their best play making receiver. Let’s be realistic here. The Trojans won’t win this game with the ground attack because Notre Dame is one of the best at stopping the run. They will need to attack the Irish in the air, and I can’t think of a better option to use than this guy. He’s a 6’5 receiver that’s difficult to bring down in open space. He finds ways to keep himself on his feet. The Irish will have their hands full with him.
Notre Dame X-Factor: Kyren Williams– I know he’s had a rough year and people love to point fingers at him. The struggles aren’t his fault. His offensive line has been struggling all year and I always say you’re as good as the five guys up front opening the lanes for you. Find other ways to get him the football! Whether it’s on sweeps or lining him up as a receiver. Kyren is the best playmaker on this Notre Dame offense next to Mayer.
Final Thoughts: Rivalry games are always fun to break down! There is so much history between these two teams. A total of 25 Pro Football Hall of Famers attended these schools. 13 from Notre Dame and 12 from USC. To name a few of them, there’s Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Joe Montana and Troy Polamalu. Notre Dame in this game must get an early pass rush on Slovis early on. I’m rushing four to get him off his rhythm as early as possible. USC needs to take some pages from all of Notre Dame’s opponents and continue to run downhill on that offensive line. That’s been their weakness all year long. Whenever these two play, it’s always a closely contested game. There’s nothing wrong with some primetime football under the lights. I’ll gladly take it!
Prediction: Notre Dame 31, USC 27
