Notre Dame Football
USC and Adoree Jackson Top Notre Dame
November 26, 2016
3,789
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – It was another rain soaked road game for Notre Dame inside Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, as USC topped the Irish 45-27 in front of 72,402.
"I’m proud of our team," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said after the game. "All year they battled. If there is one thing I am certain of is that we fight. These kids fight each and every week. They’ve been in a lot of close ball games.
"I liked the toughness that I was really looking for."
The rain made the game a sloppy affair, which is also a way to describe the 2016 season for Notre Dame. The Irish trailed the Trojans just 10-7 with 4:55 left in the second quarter, as USC kicker missed a field goal.
However, the the Trojans made two plays within 17 seconds of each other to win the game. The first was a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by Adoree Jackson and then seconds later Ajene Harries picked off Kizer and took it to the house for a 33-yard pick six.
Notre Dame opened the second going three-and-out, but freshman Julian Love forced a fumble on the punt return and classmate Troy Pride Jr. recovered at the USC 40. 10 plays later, Kizer found Chris Finke on a crossing route for a 14-yard score with 10:08 left in the third quarter.
Mr. Jackson quickly answered with another touchdown. The junior athlete caught a pass in the flats and took it down the Notre Dame sideline 52 yards to increase the lead to 31-14 with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter.
Kizer found Equanimeous St. Brown on a double-move for a 40-yard gain to the USC 43 following a USC punt. Five plays later, Kizer found Kevin Stepherson for a 29-yard touchdown with just over a minute left in the third quarter to pull Notre Dame to 31-21.
The momentum was extremely quick lived as Jackson returned the punt 97 yards, while hurdling Notre Dame kicker John Chereson in stride. USC led 38-21.
As if Notre Dame hadn't been kicked around enough by the officials this fall, Nicco Fertitta forced a fumble, which Notre Dame recovered. However, the official reviewed the play and proceeded to call targeting on Fertitta, which in turn gave the ball back to USC with 10:40 left in the game.
"I think that was an aggressive play," Kelly said of the hit by Fertitta. "I don’t think there was any intent from Nicco. We have seen those go against us – I thought our kids played hard and physical. Again, I want them to be focused and I don’t want them to be disciplined. I didn’t think they were out of control."
In those 17 seconds, Notre Dame went from being down three with a minute left before halftime to being down 24 as Darnold hooked up with Juju Smith-Schuster for a two-yard touchdown to cap that drive.
Kizer ended up being knocked out of the game on the Irish's ensuing drive, potentially bringing his college career to an even uglier finish. Malik Zaire replaced Kizer and drive the Irish into the red zone before hooking up with St. Brown for a 15-yard scoring pass. Notre Dame failed to get the two-point conversion to leave the score at 45-27.
Things started off as a normal Notre Dame game in 2016, other than the Irish winning the toss and deferring to the second half. USC marched down the field for a quick 3-0 lead with 10:22 left in first quarter.
The Irish answered with a 2-play, 75-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead less than a minute later. Adams had a 74-yard run on Notre Dame’s first play of the game and Kizer finished the drive scoring from a yard out.
Adams finished the game with 17 carries for 180 yards on the day.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jackson. Who else?
TURNING POINT: Jackson returned a kickoff 97 yards to push USC’s lead to 38-21 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. Notre Dame had just scored a touchdown to make it 31-21, but the mind-blowing decision to kick to Jackson after he already returned a punt 55 yards turned he game.
"Unfortunately, today, special teams was a huge deciding factor in the game," stated Kelly. "We gave up two touchdowns there to a very talented player. We knew how talented he was going into the game. Anytime you give scores to a very, very good offense like USC, you’re going pay for those mistakes."
WHAT’S NEXT: Notre Dame will start what is likely to be a very interesting offseason.
"I’m proud of our team," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said after the game. "All year they battled. If there is one thing I am certain of is that we fight. These kids fight each and every week. They’ve been in a lot of close ball games.
"I liked the toughness that I was really looking for."
The rain made the game a sloppy affair, which is also a way to describe the 2016 season for Notre Dame. The Irish trailed the Trojans just 10-7 with 4:55 left in the second quarter, as USC kicker missed a field goal.
However, the the Trojans made two plays within 17 seconds of each other to win the game. The first was a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by Adoree Jackson and then seconds later Ajene Harries picked off Kizer and took it to the house for a 33-yard pick six.
Notre Dame opened the second going three-and-out, but freshman Julian Love forced a fumble on the punt return and classmate Troy Pride Jr. recovered at the USC 40. 10 plays later, Kizer found Chris Finke on a crossing route for a 14-yard score with 10:08 left in the third quarter.
Mr. Jackson quickly answered with another touchdown. The junior athlete caught a pass in the flats and took it down the Notre Dame sideline 52 yards to increase the lead to 31-14 with 7:41 remaining in the third quarter.
Kizer found Equanimeous St. Brown on a double-move for a 40-yard gain to the USC 43 following a USC punt. Five plays later, Kizer found Kevin Stepherson for a 29-yard touchdown with just over a minute left in the third quarter to pull Notre Dame to 31-21.
The momentum was extremely quick lived as Jackson returned the punt 97 yards, while hurdling Notre Dame kicker John Chereson in stride. USC led 38-21.
As if Notre Dame hadn't been kicked around enough by the officials this fall, Nicco Fertitta forced a fumble, which Notre Dame recovered. However, the official reviewed the play and proceeded to call targeting on Fertitta, which in turn gave the ball back to USC with 10:40 left in the game.
"I think that was an aggressive play," Kelly said of the hit by Fertitta. "I don’t think there was any intent from Nicco. We have seen those go against us – I thought our kids played hard and physical. Again, I want them to be focused and I don’t want them to be disciplined. I didn’t think they were out of control."
In those 17 seconds, Notre Dame went from being down three with a minute left before halftime to being down 24 as Darnold hooked up with Juju Smith-Schuster for a two-yard touchdown to cap that drive.
Kizer ended up being knocked out of the game on the Irish's ensuing drive, potentially bringing his college career to an even uglier finish. Malik Zaire replaced Kizer and drive the Irish into the red zone before hooking up with St. Brown for a 15-yard scoring pass. Notre Dame failed to get the two-point conversion to leave the score at 45-27.
Things started off as a normal Notre Dame game in 2016, other than the Irish winning the toss and deferring to the second half. USC marched down the field for a quick 3-0 lead with 10:22 left in first quarter.
The Irish answered with a 2-play, 75-yard drive to take a 7-3 lead less than a minute later. Adams had a 74-yard run on Notre Dame’s first play of the game and Kizer finished the drive scoring from a yard out.
Adams finished the game with 17 carries for 180 yards on the day.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jackson. Who else?
TURNING POINT: Jackson returned a kickoff 97 yards to push USC’s lead to 38-21 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. Notre Dame had just scored a touchdown to make it 31-21, but the mind-blowing decision to kick to Jackson after he already returned a punt 55 yards turned he game.
"Unfortunately, today, special teams was a huge deciding factor in the game," stated Kelly. "We gave up two touchdowns there to a very talented player. We knew how talented he was going into the game. Anytime you give scores to a very, very good offense like USC, you’re going pay for those mistakes."
WHAT’S NEXT: Notre Dame will start what is likely to be a very interesting offseason.
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