Irish Beat Down Trojans
It was supposed to be an offensive showdown, Darnold vs. Wimbush, an explosive game. Well, it was explosive for one side. Notre Dame dominated USC wire-to-wire for a 49-14 knockout win at home against its biggest rival on Saturday night.
The Irish moved to 6-1 with the win going into a big matchup against NC State, while USC dropped to 5-2 going into a matchup in Tempe against Arizona St.
Quarterback Brandon Wimbush finished just 9 of 19 for 120 yards passing but did have two touchdown tosses to Kevin Stepherson and Equanimeous St. Brown. Josh Adams led the Irish rushing attack with 191 yards and three touchdowns. Wimbush also had 106 yards on the ground with two scores. Stepherson was the receiving leader with three receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown.
For the Trojans, Darnold was 20 of 28 for 229 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Ronald Jones led the Trojans in rushing with just 32 yards. Deontay Burnett led the receivers with seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Adams finished the game for good toward the end of the third quarter, when he took the handoff all the way to the house for an 84-yard touchdown, his second of the night to give the Irish a 42-14 lead three minutes before the fourth quarter.
The next Trojan drive began at their own 25 and Darnold completed a few passes to get the Trojans up to midfield, but came up limping after a Jay Hayes sack and Matt Fink replaced him. Fink completed his first pass but it was short of the first down marker as the third quarter came to an end. Darnold came right back in after the break but threw an incompletion to turn the ball over to the Irish just six seconds into the fourth.
A couple of nice throws from Wimbush to Stepherson got the Irish into the red zone yet again. A hard-charging Adams scored again, this time from 14 yards out to provide the final score with 13:17 to play in the game. Fink came out on the next drive for the Trojans with the game being pretty much decided.
After just 14 sacks a year ago, the Irish already have 18 this season.
Trailing 28-0, the Trojans began the second half with the football at their own 23-yard line. Jones got it started with a 17-yard gain bypassing his first half total of five yards. A Steven Mitchell reception got the Trojans over midfield as the offense started to find a rhythm. A fourth down completion from Darnold to Burnett kept the drive alive for the Trojans.
A deep throw to Tyler Vaughns got the Trojans into the red zone for just the second time in the game. The Trojans got into the end zone on a slant throw from Darnold to Mitchell for a five-yard score which cut the Irish lead to 28-7 with ten minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Irish began their first drive of the half at their own 34-yard line after a good return. A big run by Adams got the Irish to the Trojan side of the field. A big third down completion from Wimbush to Chase Claypool kept the chains moving. Wimbush got the Irish into the red zone after a beautiful run and then capped off the drive with another touchdown scamper, his second of the night to give the Irish a big 35-7 lead with 6:06 to play in the third.
The Trojans got their next drive started at their own 27-yard line. A quick pass down the sideline to Mitchell got the Trojans to midfield and Burnett continued the trend with another play for big yardage. Darnold helped his own cause with a nice run after escaping the pass rush and on the play found Burnett for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 35-14 before Adams' long run.
The Irish gained 377 yards on the ground, compared to just 76 for the Trojans.
Notre Dame won the toss and chose to receive but C.J. Sanders didn’t get a good return and the drive started at their own 10 yard-line. The drive didn’t get going and the Irish were forced to punt after a three and out. The Trojans took over at the Notre Dame 43 after a good punt return by Jones.
But on the Trojans' first play from scrimmage, Darnold bobbled the snap and lost it and Te’Von Coney recovered at the Irish 49. Wimbush got the drive off on the right foot with a 12-yard run. Two plays later, Wimbush found a streaking St.Brown in the end zone to give the Irish the early 7-0 with 12:45 remaining in the quarter.
The Trojans began their next drive at their own 28-yard line. Darnold completed back to back passes to Vaughns and Burnett to get the offense into a rhythm. But the drive stalled before before getting to midfield and the Trojans were forced to punt. Finke took the return 15 yards up to the Irish 21.
Adams started off the drive with a few nice runs of seven and nine yards to get the Irish to move the chains. Tony Jones Jr. took a run into Trojan territory with a nice gain. Stepherson got involved on an end around as the Irish started to run the ball with complete ease. Two plays later, Stepherson caught a perfect back shoulder throw from Wimbush for a 24-yard score to put the Irish up 14-0 with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.
The Trojans started the ensuing drive at their own 14. Darnold and Co. had nothing doing on the drive and were forced into a three and out and the Irish took over at their own 31 after the punt. After a nice run by Adams to start the drive, the Irish were unable to keep the momentum and they were forced to punt. The Trojan took over at their own 28 with 3:11 left in the quarter.
A couple completions to Mitchell got the Trojans over midfield for the first time in the game. Burnett got his first big reception of the night with a gain of 32 to get the Trojans into the red zone. The quarter ended with the Trojans knocking on the door. Ultimately the Trojans only settled for a short field goal but Chase McGrath missed and the Irish took over with 13:05 left in the half.
A great slashing run by Adams got the chains moving for the Irish as the big back was heavily featured on the early part of the drive. A few good runs by Wimbush got the Irish over midfield as their rushing offense continued to keep the Trojans on their heels. However, the drive stalled and the Irish punted it away. Jones muffed the punt though, and the Irish took over inside the 10 yard-line. Adams punched it in from three yards out to put the Irish up big, 21-0 with 7:43 to play in the half.
The Trojans began their next drive at the 37 after a solid kick return. A Burnett catch on the first play of the drive got the Trojans over midfield but Darnold was picked off on the next play by Nick Watkins. The Irish took over at their own 40-yard line. A big play on third down from Wimbush to Durham Smythe got the Irish drive moving and Wimbush continued the trend with an electrifying run which got the Irish into the red zone.
Three plays later, Wimbush took it himself into the end zone to give the Irish a 28-0 advantage with just 3:54 to go before half. The Trojans started the ensuing drive at the 25-yard line and Darnold got into a bit of a rhythm with a few completions. The drive stalled after one first down and the Trojans punted it away. The Irish took over at their own 46 with only 1:01 left in the half.
Wimbush and the offense got back where they off and the Irish got to the USC side of the field rather easily. After a St. Brown drop on third down, the Irish punted and the Trojans took over at their own one-yard line. The Trojans just ran out the clock to close out the half.
Wimbush was 6 of 16 through the air for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wimbush also had 12 carries for 76 yards and another score. Adams had 14 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown to spearhead the rushing attack. St. Brown was the receiving leader with three catch for 29 yards and a touchdown. For the Trojans, Darnold was 11 of 16 for 107 yards and an interception. Jones was held to just five yards on seven carries and Burnett was the leading receiver, catching five balls for 66 yards.
Player of the Game: Adams. The junior had arguably his best game of the season and put himself firmly in the Heisman conversation with another outstanding game.
Unsung Hero: Stepherson. After not being involved in the offense for most of the season, he was great when called upon and gave the Irish the jolt they needed early in the game.
Up Next: The Irish will play host to the impressive 16th ranked NC State Wolfpack next Saturday at 3:30 P.M.