Game Thread | USC at No. 9 Notre Dame

USC (3-2) at No. 9 Notre Dame (4-1)

Notre Dame Stadium |7:30 p.m. ET | NBC 

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Momentum 

Notre Dame enters Saturday’s matchup with aspirations to make the College Football Playoff and moving to 5-1 is the next step as the season hits the halfway point. 

The other significant aspect of getting a win over USC isn’t just about pride, but heading into the bye week with momentum as Michigan will be waiting for the Irish after the week off. 

It doesn’t really need to be said, but no program wants to head into the bye coming off a loss and in Notre Dame’s case, it would be a very long off week as any hope for the College Football Playoff would be lost. 

Notre Dame matches up well on paper with USC despite the Trojans deep receiver corps. The Irish defense downplayed playing a true freshman quarterback and while Kedon Slovis has been impressive, he hasn’t felt the pressure of a game of his magnitude or faced a defense on Clark Lea’s level. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame LB Jack Lamb
USC plays three and four wide a lot of the time and they want to throw the ball as much as they can. Expect to see Notre Dame play Dime more frequently to combat that, which means Lamb will be on the field and have a chance to be a big factor in coverage.

USC WR Michael Pittman
Big, fast, and dominant in single coverage. It would be surprising to see the Irish line up one on one against him often (or at all). The corners will have help over the top against him in order to not let him go off for a huge day.

Notre Dame RB Jafar Armstrong
Back from injury, but on a pitch count, Armstrong can still play a big role in this game. USC struggles to stop runs outside of the tackles and that's where Armstrong is best as a runner.

USC S Talanoa Hufanga
The best player on USC's defense, he missed the Washington game and was greatly missed. They drop him down into the box as a blitzer and have him add in to help stop the run, but he's an instinctive player in coverage as well. 

Notre Dame CB TaRiq Bracy
Bracy did well against Georgia in coverage. Things weren't as great against Virginia. This week he has to go up against much better receivers and we'll see if he is up for the challenge. He shouldn't be left on an island very much, but they need him to be more physical when finishing on contested balls.

By The Numbers 

3 - Brian Kelly is the first Irish coach to post three or more shutouts in his Notre Dame career since Lou Holtz. The last Irish shutout took place in 2014 vs. Michigan (31-0), and Kelly’s first shutout as the Notre Dame head coach came vs. Wake Forest in 2012

4 - Brady Quinn, Tommy Rees, Jimmy Clausen, Ron Powlus and Ian Book are the only quarterbacks in Notre Dame history to record four or more touchdown passes in three games in their career. Book joined the group after recording five passing touchdowns vs. Bowling Green.

5 - QB Ian Book threw five touchdown passes in the first half vs. Bowling Green, matching his career high in a game (vs. New Mexico, 2019) and marking the first time in program history an Irish QB recorded five touchdown passes in a half.

19 - Notre Dame has held its opponents to 30 points or less in 19 consecutive games, a streak only topped by Washington (20) for the FBS lead in that category. The streak spans defensive coordinator Clark Lea’s entire tenure with the Irish.

20 - Last week, Irish quarterbacks totaled nine completions for 20 or more yards, which ties for the FBS lead (Texas Tech and Miami, Fla.).

51.6 - Notre Dame’s defense leads the FBS in opponent passing attempts per touchdown, holding squads to 51.6 attempts per touchdown. This averages nearly 10 more attempts per touchdown than any other FBS team. The Irish are most closely trailed in this category by Mississippi State (41.9).

1,211 - Notre Dame running backs have gone 1,211 carries without losing a fumble – dating back to Nov. 21, 2015. It is the longest active streak in the FBS, trailed by Northwestern’s 1,152-carry streak.

Quotes of the Week

USC RB Markese Stepp:
“The other day we were playing the Notre Dame fight song at practice and it brought back so many memories of being in that stadium with those guys,” said Stepp. “When you look back at it, I would have never thought I’d be at USC.

“It’s just crazy. I remember going to those games when Jaylon Smith was there playing against USC and Sam Darnold. You go from rooting for them to playing against them. It’s crazy.”

Notre Dame DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa:
“We always try to go out with the mindset to dominate our opponent. We’re focused on our process of knowing we have to set the tone. Coach Elston always emphasizes we have to out physical any opponent we play.”

Notre Dame S Alohi Gilman:
It’s a great rivalry and everyone is amped up. It’s two schools with a lot of tradition, heart and passion. Coming to a school like this gives you even more pride. When we get on the field, there is a lot of bad blood, but it’s fun out there. It’s a rivalry you have to enjoy." 

Notre Dame CB Troy Pride Jr.:
"When you’re on the football field, anybody is dangerous. If you think for one second you have somebody, you will certainly be mistaken. We don’t worry about tags and stuff.

“He’s (USC QB Kedon Slovis) out there and he’s playing. He can be labeled as whatever, but he can play like something else.” 

For Your Nerves 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBFUpOBkWcY

http://instagr.am/p/B3dJJuPlag5