Notre Dame-USC Means A Great Deal to Notre Dame's Niuafe Tuihalamaka
Notre Dame. USC.
Nothing more needs to be said. It’s one of the nation's top rivalry games and once again, Notre Dame will travel to Southern California with a lot on the line.
A win and the Irish will head to the College Football Playoff.
Yet, with there being a lot on the line, the game also means a great deal on a personal level to a few members of the Notre Dame football team.
Niufafe (Junior) Tuihalamaka was committed to USC for almost a year before flipping his commitment to Notre Dame. There’s also a long list of family members with ties to USC, which makes this even more special for Tuihalamaka, who grew up 36 minutes from LA Memorial Coliseum.
“It means a lot, especially playing in an environment with a lot of family members out there and growing up around a lot of people who love USC, especially my family,” said Tuihalamaka. “But we don’t like those guys over there.”
The last line holds true as Tuihalamaka quickly learned about the bad blood between the two programs when he arrived in South Bend.
“It’s a rivalry,” stated Tuihalamaka. “Ever since I came here, it’s been engrained with me. Growing up in California, I could obviously be a fan of USC and Stanford. Coming here, I understand the rivalry and everything.”
Tuihalamaka, who played high school football at Bishop Alemany, will see a couple familiar faces on the opposite sideline on Saturday afternoon. USC quarterback Miller Moss and defensive back Jaylin Smith are good friends with Tuihalamaka, but the texts have stopped this week.
“I can’t text them,” Tuihalamaka said. “My boy Miller Moss isn’t playing right now, but Jaylin Smith - that boy can play for sure on the defensive side of the ball. We’ve always been boys, but this week, we’re not.”
Rivalry aside, Tuihalamaka has come into his own in year three and the second year working off the edge of the Irish defense. Through 11 games, the 6-foot-2, 255-pounder has made 26 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception.
Team glory is a popular saying around The Gug and Tuihalamaka is a prime example of that. The California native had to wait for his opportunity patiently, but it came, and he was more than ready for it.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys in his situation pout and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” explained Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. “He did the opposite. He went to work, got better, sharpened his skills, made sure there were no mental errors when he was in there and executed the defense exactly the way we wanted. Precise.
“He got his opportunity and he’s never relinquished it since. I don’t know where we would be without him. He’s done a hell of a job this year.”
Golden rarely gives high praise, so the words shouldn’t be taken lightly as it relates to Tuihalamaka’s impact on the defense, which has become one of the best in the country.
“It starts with the coaches and the game plan and everything,” Tuihalamaka stated. “It also starts with the older guys setting the standard, coming towards Jack (Kiser), Rylie (Mills) and then from the corners. Even if Ben Morrison is hurt, he still is keeping the standard.
“So at the end of the day, the older guys are setting the standard by letting us know that we keep that pain from Northern Illinois and knowing the type of team we know we are or the defensive unit in general, just keeping in the back of our head that nothing can hold us back but ourselves.”
Speaking of pain, Notre Dame will remember not only the pain of the NIU game but also the 2022 USC game this week. Tuihalamaka remembers that night well and doesn’t expect that to happen on Saturday night.
“Just letting Caleb Williams run around like that - we just have to keep that pain,” said Tuihalamaka. “The fact he was able to make plays like that against us, we just can’t let that happen on Saturday with anybody.”
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