Campus Clash
(15) Notre Dame Fighting Irish at (6) USC Trojans
Notre Dame: The year started rocky for them. They lost a tough game against the Ohio State Buckeyes in week one and to this day, I’ll still say they played them the best of any other team in college football this year because they held them to 21 points and if you know anything about that offense, the Buckeyes can score in bunches and light up the scoreboard. A week after that, they lost a game to the Marshall Thundering Herd and all the noise came. “Fire Marcus Freeman”, “he’s not a good coach” or my personal “favorite”, “he should’ve never been hired to begin with”. All this chatter after two games. TWO! I can understand being winless after five or six games but let him break his feet in and get settled. Since then, they’ve won eight of their last nine games, including a win over the Clemson Tigers where they just absolutely dominated them from the first whistle to the last whistle. This Fighting Irish team is in good hands with Marcus, I can’t stress this enough. Let him continue to recruit and good things will come. The most important thing he needs is a Quarterback. I feel that’s been the downfall of this team for years now. Look at all the contenders in the nation. I’m talking about the Alabama’s, Ohio State’s and Georgia’s. They all have consistency under center. The last solid Quarterback for the Irish was Ian Book which is saying something. Let this program get that consistent signal caller under center and they’re one of the best teams in the country if you ask me. On Saturday, they will travel to Southern California for a rivalry game.
USC: I left watching that game on Saturday so impressed. This was my first time all year really getting to watch them. It’s one thing when you view highlights, but in game is something that’s much different and they didn’t disappoint. Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena against one of their biggest rivals in the UCLA Bruins with so much on the line was attention grabbing. Coming into the game, I wanted to see two things. The first was the defense overall because I can admit they’ve struggled throughout the year, and it gave me flashbacks of Lincoln Riley’s teams back at Oklahoma and I said that knowing what you’ll get from the offense without question. They will stretch the field and spread the ball around to the open receiver. The other was how they would fare against one of the best ground attacks in the country with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet. Although they allowed 45 points, the USC defense got key turnovers when it mattered the most and they intercepted DTR three times. Last week when I was on “College Football Showdown” with Israel Rivera, he said Caleb Williams has a little Patrick Mahomes in his game and after watching him on Saturday, I can understand why he made that comparison. He can make those awkward throws, passes on the run and he’s mobile enough to escape. The Trojans return home to welcome Notre Dame to town.
Notre Dame X-Factor: JD Bertrand– He’s the heartbeat of this Notre Dame defense. JD was meant to play linebacker. At 6’1, he has the speed to travel from sideline to sideline and swarms himself to the football. He’s Luke Kuechly reincarnated. I see many similarities between the two. I love JD’s pursuit of the football because the ball-carrier could be up the field 15-20 yards and he will travel with him to bring him down. There’s no quitting in his DNA. He tackles fundamentally and plays with that relentless motor. He will be counted on to apply pressure on Caleb and collapse his pocket.
USC X-Factor: Austin Jones– He’s the forgotten piece of this offense considering all the firepower they have elsewhere with Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison and Mario Williams. Austin has stepped up and filled in nicely for Travis Dye who’s out for the season with a knee injury. He’s a patient runner that allows the lanes to open, then he finds his way up the field. Austin might not have the game changing speed of others playing the position in the nation, but he’s quick enough to make people miss and will also lower that shoulder to run through people.
Final Analysis: This is one of the best rivalries in our sport and there are so many memories connected between these two. Saturday will mark a new chapter of this historic showdown with two brand new coaches in Marcus Freeman and Lincoln Riley. The key matchup I’m watching in this game is Al Golden, Notre Dame’s Defensive Coordinator against Caleb Williams. He will dare the Trojans to run the football with Jones. How Al tries to keep these USC weapons in front of them is really grabbing my eye. Look for the Irish to test the patience of Williams early on. Notre Dame will play another top five team and we saw what they did a few weeks ago to Clemson, that’s the game plan they must use if they want to end the year with another upset. I need to see this Trojans defense get stops outside of intercepting the ball. I see this game coming down to the fourth quarter.
Prediction: USC 35, Notre Dame 30
