GAME THREAD | No. 15 Notre Dame at No. 6 USC

No. 15 Notre Dame (8-3) at No. 6 USC (10-1)

LA Memorial Coliseum | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC | USC -4.5 | O/U: 63

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RIVAL 

Notre Dame at USC.

All that needs to be said. 

Notre Dame must find a way to slow down USC quarterback and Heisman frontrunner Caleb Williams on Saturday night as he’s the key to the show. Williams hasn’t faced a defense anywhere close to as stout as Notre Dame this season, but it’s also game 12, so none of that matters. 

What can you expect Notre Dame to do on offense? Run the ball. If the Irish show out like they did against Boston College and Clemson, then game on. If they have a Navy performance, it could be a long day for the blue and gold. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
Morrison has been outstanding in the second half of the season and he'll be tested again this week going up against a group of receivers that are as good as any the Irish have faced. His matchups with WR Jordan Addison will be must-watch.

USC QB Caleb Williams
Win the game and put up the numbers he's used to and he'll reserve a spot in New York for the Heisman ceremony and set USC up to make the College Football Playoff. He's a dynamic presence with his ability to escape the rush and the Irish will have to play at a high-level to limit their offense.

Notre Dame RB Logan Diggs 
Notre Dame is going to do as much as they can to dominate the time of possession and keep this potent USC offense off the field. That means Diggs and Audric Estime need to have another big day on the ground and that's likely to happen against a USC run defense that has struggled.

USC DE Tuli Tuipulotu
One of the top pass rushers in college football this season, he's their only true game-wrecker on defense. Notre Dame's offensive line has to be great for the Irish to win and it starts with doing their job against Tuipulotu.

Notre Dame DE Isaiah Foskey
He has the Notre Dame sack record, but the Irish need him for one last ride to slow down USC's passing game. He had six forced fumbles last season, but has zero in 2022 despite having 9.5 sacks. He's due to force one soon.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
"There's a different feeling about this one and I can feel it amongst our program and our players. I knew it last year, but this year being at the end of the year at USC, you can really feel it."

Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees:
"It's huge, right? I don't know if our guys fully know that. It just seems weird we haven't played there since 2018. When you're there — you have a home game and you have a game there — OK, this is what the rivalry really means. 

"I grew up in a household where UCLA-SC was a big day every year. So I kind of knew what SC was about at an early age. Then you come here, and you still have that same feeling that you had as my brother had, my mom had, my dad had at UCLA. Maybe even more so with just football. Like every year, this was the one you circled.” 

Notre Dame DC Al Golden:
"It's great to be a part of it now. Again, a lot of respect for SC and what they represent and what we represent. It's going to be a great game to be a part of."

Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne:
“As far as the stadium goes, we’ve played in a lot of cool stadiums since we’ve been here. I have a routine that I do. We’ll visit the stadium probably on Friday and I’ll get accustomed to the stadium. It’s a great game, it’s a great tradition.

“However, I’m going to approach it the same way I’ve approached every game since I’ve been here.”

Notre Dame CB TaRiq Bracy:
“We’re a confident group. We know being able to play teams like that and have that under our belt definitely brings some confidence, but I feel like our confidence is internal. I think we’ll be fine against USC.” 

For Your Nerves 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7' Inflatable Santa