Notre Dame Contains, Hits and Picks Off USC QB Caleb Williams for 48-20 Victory
Notre Dame forced five turnovers, which included picking off Trojan quarterback Caleb Williams three times, to defeat No. 10 USC on Saturday night, 48-20.
The reigning Heisman Trophy winner went 23-37 for 199 yards, a single touchdown and three interceptions — a first for his collegiate career. The Irish also sacked him six times and helped to a loss of eight yards on 13 carries.
Despite what this beat writer published prior, it's safe to say Notre Dame did far more than “contain” Williams on Saturday night. The Irish dominated him in the largest defeat of his collegiate career.
“I don’t know if there’s a perfect answer to stopping Caleb Williams,” coach Marcus Freeman said. “He is one of the best college football players that I’ve ever seen. I just keep telling our guys we have a plan and on this play, you have to attack. You cannot play passive.
“You cannot play a three-man rush and let him go out there and be the Heisman Trophy winner that he is.”
Almost as impactful, the Irish stymied the Trojans’ ground attack. USC entered Saturday averaging 6.0 yards per carry (5th out of 133 FBS programs) and 17 rush touchdowns (T-3rd).
Notre Dame gave up just 103 rush yards (2.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown.
Ultimately, that’s how Notre Dame limited USC to more than 30 points beneath its season average. Coming into the game, the Trojans led the nation with 51.8 points per game.
“That's one of the best defensive performances I've ever seen against one of the best offenses in the country,” quarterback Sam Hartman said.
Safety Xavier Watts forced three turnovers and gathered a 15-yard scoop and score on a Cam Hart Strip with 3:27 left in the game that sealed an Irish victory.
He returned his two interceptions deep into USC territory for 61 total yards, which set up a pair of touchdown drives that totaled four plays for 14 yards.
Overall, the offense managed another so-so performance that proved to be more than enough to win the game.
Hartman went 13-20 for 126 yards and two scores. Notre Dame rushed for 125 yards on 29 carries (4.3 yards per carry), including a 95-yard, two-touchdown display from running back Audric Estimé.
The offense also benefited from Jadarian Price’s 99-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter after USC had just cut Notre Dame’s lead to 11 points.
“Our defense kept us just in a groove and really good field position,” Hartman said.
So like they say, defense wins championships. I guess I’ve got to buy Al Golden another Ferrari.”
Stat of the Night
Williams had thrown one interception this season prior to Saturday night and 10 throughout two and a half seasons on 877 pass attempts, per SportSource Analytics.
The Irish picked him off three times on his first 18 throws of the first half.
“I'm sure he would call them mistakes,” Freeman said. “He (didn’t) want to throw the ball to our defenders. We were able to capitalize off them. Instead of just having PBUs or almosts, our guys turned those into takeaways, which were huge for our entire team.”
It’s the sixth time since 1996 that Notre Dame has picked off three or more games multiple times in a season. The Irish also had three interceptions off of North Carolina State quarterback Brennan Armstrong in Week 2.
Play of the Night
The turnovers deserve the headlines, but the most remarkable play came from linebacker JD Bertrand midway through the second quarter when USC had the ball on 4th-and-1 at the Notre Dame 29-yard line.
Bertrand timed the snap perfectly, blitzed through the middle of the line untouched and wrapped up both running back Austin Jones and quarterback Caleb Williams during the exchange for a 4-yard loss.
“What our defense has put on display up to this season is,” Bertrand said, “no matter if it's fourth and one, no matter how many yards are left in the red zone or whatever, we stand a chance.”
What’s Next?
The Irish get a much-needed week off after eight straight games to open the season, including four straight against ranked opponents at night.
Notre Dame will be back in action on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET against Pitt (2-4).
Panther coach Pat Narduzzi recently benched former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec due to the team’s poor start and moved him to tight end. Pitt came into the day averaging 23.4 points per game (99th out of 133 FBS programs).
Redshirt sophomore Christian Veilleux started against No. 14 Louisville on Saturday instead, and Pitt proceeded to upset the Cardinals 38-21.
“Louisville is a really good team,” Hartman said, “and they lost, so takes away that luster.”