Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 23, 2021 35 GAME PREVIEW: USC Make no mistake, though. Stanford and Oregon State showed some balance as well. The Cardinal threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns. The Beavers threw for 213 and four touchdowns. So what will a largely one-dimensional Notre Dame offense do against a USC de- fense that has been beaten both ways? The Irish did not average more than 3.5 yards per carry in any of their first five games. They only eclipsed 100 rushing yards as a team twice, in wins over Toledo and Purdue. A season-low three rushing yards as an entire unit against Wisconsin was certainly concerning. The Irish only followed it up with 84 the following week against Cincinnati. USC's best chance of springing an up- set is going to be holding the Notre Dame running game down like the Badgers and Bearcats. Wisconsin was in a position to beat Notre Dame in the fourth quarter if Chris Tyree's kickoff return touchdown and the Irish's interception spree didn't completely change the trajectory of the game. Which USC rushing defense will show up? Regardless of the answer, the Tro- jans still have game-changers on a de- fense that ranked only 62nd nationally in total yards allowed per game (361.4) through its first five outings. There was no better example of that than when junior linebacker Drake Jackson's strip sack led to sophomore defensive line- man Tuli Tuipulotu's fumble recovery touchdown against Washington State. The score was a big part of the Trojans' second-half rout. Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando is confident his unit can find some consis- tency at all three levels through the sec- ond half of the season. "Any time those guys do well up front — maybe Drake every once in a while will just beat a guy clean — but most of the time it just goes to the quarterback having to go to his first and second read, and we have time to go get him," Orlando said. ✦ "Everyone is dealing with a different thing internally, and it sucks because you can't just stop and put everything on pause. You have to find a way to still fight and push through." WILLIAMS 1. A Drake Duo Two of USC's most productive players have the same first name. They also might be the best player Notre Dame faces this year at their respec- tive positions. Junior wide receiver Drake London is consid- ered an early-to-mid first-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft. He's a 6-5, 210-pound physi- cal presence with a 38-inch vertical jump. He also played basketball for USC as a freshman and was a two-sport star in high school. Through five games, he led the country with 48 catches and 670 receiving yards. He has also caught four touchdowns. London made an immediate impact as a fresh- man in 2019 despite a talented group of returning receivers, with 567 yards in nine starts. He caught 33 passes for 502 yards and six touchdowns in five games last year. On the other side, classmate and outside line- backer Drake Jackson leads the Trojans in sacks (3.0), quarterback pressures (16) and tackles for loss (4.0). Like London, he's a three-year starter who made a freshman splash in 2019. He led the Trojans with 11.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks that year, and had 2.5 tackles for loss against Notre Dame. He has 21 tackles for loss in 22 career games. 2. Defensive Problems Re-Emerge USC hired former Texas and Houston defensive coordinator Todd Orlando before the 2020 season to fix a unit that gave up the most yards in program history the year before. Early returns were positive. The Trojans went 5-1 last year, jumped 28 spots in the national rankings for scoring defense and rose 21 slots in yards per play allowed. In his second season, though, the defense has devolved into a problem again. USC is allowing 5.86 yards per play, which ranks 94th out of 130 Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision teams. It ranks 87th in yards per carry allowed (4.2), 99th in sacks per game (1.6) and 86th in opponent passer rating (138.74). Jackson has three sacks himself. The rest of the team has combined for five. Only two players have more than six quarterback pressures. The Trojans allowed a combined 87 points in home losses to unranked Stanford and Oregon State. Their one calling card is forcing turnovers. They have taken the ball away 10 times in five games, which is tied for 16th nationally. Redshirt junior cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart has been targeted just 14 times this year. He has allowed seven catches and one touchdown while inter- cepting one pass. 3. Transfer Portal Time Now-former head coach Clay Helton under- stood the pressure he was facing this season and needed immediate roster reinforcements. He went deep into the best resource for them: the transfer portal. USC added nine transfers from FBS schools this offseason, including eight from Power Five teams. Six of them saw meaningful playing time at their prior schools. Four of them came from Texas. The return on investment has been mixed. Senior running back Keaontay Ingram, who ran for 1,811 yards in three years at Texas, leads USC with 349 rushing yards. He's averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Memphis transfer and red- shirt sophomore wide receiver Tahj Washington ranks second on the team in catches (18) and receiving yards (221). Meanwhile, Texas transfer Jake Smith is out for the season with a foot injury suffered in August. The junior wide receiver had 568 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons with the Longhorns. Redshirt senior K.D. Nixon had 104 catches for 1,250 yards at Colorado, but has not cracked USC's wide receiver rotation. He has two catches this year. USC brought in three defensive players via the transfer portal, but only redshirt freshman safety Xavion Alford (10 tackles, one pass broken up) has made a noticeable impact. He also transferred in from Texas. — Patrick Engel USC wide receiver Drake London led the nation in catches (48) and yards (670) through five games. He also has caught four touchdown passes. PHOTO COURTESY USC ATHLETICS Three Things To Know About USC