Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 30, 2021 19 BY TYLER HORKA N a na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye. Notre Dame fans serenaded their friends from the West Coast by singing those words late in the fourth quarter when it had become clear the Fighting Irish were moments away from beating USC for the fourth straight time and eighth time in 11 tries under head coach Brian Kelly. The No. 13 Irish (6-1) beat the Tro- jans 31-16 in a wire-to-wire victory that was never really in doubt, even when USC (3-4) decreased its deficit to eight points midway through the final frame. Without flinching, Notre Dame drove 75 yards down the field in 3:59 to put the Irish up by two scores again. That's when the bundled-up crowd of 77,622 started singing, and that's when Kelly knew he had beaten what some would say is Notre Dame's biggest rival yet an- other time. "We take this game really serious," Kelly said. "Obviously, it starts at the top. This is an important game. And we bring that importance into the building when it's time to get ready for USC. It's really important. And so, we take it as such." Anything can happen in rivalry games. Notre Dame did its best from kickoff to make sure the better team won in South Bend. The Irish drove 74 yards in 13 plays on their opening possession of the game. The drive ended in a missed field goal, but it proved the Irish would be able to move the ball on USC all night. Gradu- ate student quarterback Jack Coan connected with graduate student wide receiver Avery Davis for a four-yard touchdown on possession No. 2. The Irish scored on their next three possessions, too, to open up a 17-3 half- time lead. They maintained a similar advantage the rest of the game. Coan finished 20-of-28 passing for 189 yards. Junior running back Kyren Williams ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, four players — senior safety DJ Brown, junior line- backer JD Bertrand, senior cornerback TaRiq Bracy and senior linebacker Bo Bauer — all had seven tackles to finish tied for the team lead. It was an all-around performance on both sides of the ball in yet another Irish victory over Southern Cal. "This is our game," Kelly said. "And it means a lot. It means a lot to our kids, it means a lot to our university, everybody associated with it. And to come out vic- torious, there was a lot of preparation." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, USC 0 Top Moment: Notre Dame struck first on a four-yard touchdown pass from Coan to Davis, who started in the slot on the left and slipped through the USC defense to find himself wide open in the back right corner of the end zone. Feature Performer: Coan connected on 10 of 13 throws for 79 yards with the touchdown in the first frame. He was crisp and accurate with his passes and got the ball out rather quickly to move the ball down the field for the Irish. Stats: Notre Dame gained 144 yards to USC's 66. The Irish held the Trojans to minus-seven rushing yards. Notre Dame converted 3 of 4 third down attempts. USC was 0-1 in that statistic. Items: Notre Dame drove the ball 74 yards in 13 plays on the opening posses- sion, but the drive stalled with a third- down drop from senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. and a missed 36-yard field goal by graduate student Jonathan Doerer … Freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner completed two passes for 24 yards on the Irish's touchdown drive … Junior safety Kyle Hamilton left the game with a lower-body injury in the final two minutes of the quarter and did not return. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 17, USC 3 Top Moment: Graduate student defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa- Amosa disrupted USC quarterback Ke- don Slovis' throwing motion, and senior linebacker Bo Bauer intercepted the flut- tering pass and returned it 79 yards to the USC 4-yard line. Slovis tracked him down and made the tackle to prevent a pick-six. Feature Performer: Freshman wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. caught two passes for 39 yards. He entered the night with two catches for 16 yards all season. Notre Dame drew up a screen for him early in the quarter, and he sprinted down the sideline for 29 yards. Stats: USC outgained Notre Dame 122-76. The Trojans were balanced in their attack with 65 passing yards and 57 rush- ing yards. They also held the ball for 10:24 to Notre Dame's 4:36, but the Irish still outscored the Trojans 10-3. Items: Notre Dame had to settle for a 21-yard Doerer field goal after the Bauer interception … The Notre Dame defense stood tall in the red zone and held the Trojans to a 33-yard field goal after a 13- play, 60-yard drive … Williams scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season on a five-yard score with 4:13 left in the half. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 24, USC 3 Top Moment: Williams plunged into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game with 2:51 left in the quarter. The score came after a 13-play, 80-yard drive. It marked the Irish's second 13-play drive of the game. Feature Performer: Williams ran six times for 49 yards in the quarter, 38 of which came on an impressive scamper down the left sideline. He broke a tackle and intelligently stayed behind his lead blocker to make the most of the carry. It was the longest play from scrimmage for the Irish offense. SERIOUS BUSINESS Notre Dame notched its fourth straight win against archrival USC, cruising to a 31-16 victory Junior running back Kyren Williams had his best game of the season, rushing 25 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns while adding six catches for 42 yards. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER