Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1421675
20 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Stats: USC outgained Notre Dame 152-68. The Irish offense only gained 11 yards through the air. USC averaged 7.2 yards per play to Notre Dame's 4.3. Items: Graduate student defen- sive lineman Kurt Hinish was injured on USC's first drive of the quarter. He returned to the game … A targeting penalty on senior safety DJ Brown was overturned via replay, and the Trojans missed a 42-yard field goal attempt on the very next play … Senior running back C'Bo Flemister recorded his first carries of the season. He ran for gains of six, three and one yard … Junior Jay Bramblett punted for the first time in the game after Notre Dame's first pos- session of the second half, which was a three-and-out. FOURTH QUARTER NOTRE DAME 31, USC 16 Top Moment: Buchner put the game away for good with his second rushing touchdown of the season. His three- yard score and Doerer's extra point with 4:52 remaining accounted for the final points either team put on the board. Feature Performer: Williams, again. Ten of his 25 carries came in the fourth quarter. When Notre Dame needed to nurse its lead and bleed the game out, it turned to Williams. And he answered the call. He ran for 46 yards in the final stanza. Stats: Notre Dame outgained USC 95-84. The Irish were a perfect 3 of 3 on third down. They possessed the ball for 10:11, which was important considering the Trojans didn't have the ball as much as they needed to in order to mount a comeback. Items: Coan was intercepted early in the quarter looking for Austin down the right sideline … Trailing by 21 points entering the quarter, USC battled back to pull within eight with 8:51 remaining … Two 15-yard penalties aided Notre Dame in the drive that culminated with Buchner's touchdown run … Junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey forced a fumble that senior cornerback TaRiq Bracy recovered on a last-ditch fourth- and-22 effort from the Trojans on their own 34-yard line. ✦ NOTRE DAME 31, USC 16 Oct. 23, 2021 ✦ Attendance: 77,622 Notre Dame Stadium ✦ South Bend 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final USC 0 3 0 13 16 Notre Dame 7 10 7 7 31 USC ND FIRST QUARTER ND Davis 4-yard pass from Coan (Doerer kick) 4:09 0 7 Drive: 11 plays, 70 yards, 4:53 SECOND QUARTER ND Doerer 21-yard field goal 13:24 0 10 Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard, 1:20 USC Lewis 33-yard field goal 7:29 3 10 Drive: 13 plays, 60 yards, 5:49 ND Williams 5-yard run (Doerer kick) 4:13 3 17 Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:16 THIRD QUARTER ND Williams 1-yard run (Doerer kick) 2:51 3 24 Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 5:17 FOURTH QUARTER USC Ingram 4-yard run (Lewis kick) 14:52 10 24 Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards, 2:54 USC Barlow 3-yard run (Lewis kick failed) 8:51 16 24 Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 2:34 ND Buchner 3-yard run (Doerer kick) 4:52 16 31 Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:59 USC ND Total First Downs 25 26 Rushing 12 10 Passing 12 12 Penalty 1 4 Rushing Attempts 32 41 Yards Gained Rushing 162 181 Yards Lost Rushing 37 11 Net Yards Rushing 125 170 Net Yards Passing 299 213 Passes Attempted 37 30 Passes Completed 27 22 Had Intercepted 1 1 Percent Completion 73.0% 73.3% Yards Per Attempt 8.1 7.1 Yards Per Completion 11.1 9.7 Total Offensive Plays 69 71 Total Net Yards 424 383 Average Gain Per Play 6.1 5.4 Fumbles: No.-Lost 2-1 0-0 Penalties: No.-Yards 9-65 4-39 Punts: No.-Yards 2-99 1-52 Average Per Punt 49.5 52.0 Average Net Punt 39.5 52.0 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 0-0 Kickoff Returns: No.-Yards 5-96 1-14 Interception Returns: No.-Yards 1-0 1-79 Fumble Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 1-3 Miscellaneous Yards 0 0 Possession Time 24:28 31:23 Third-Down Conversions 6-13 8-12 Percentage 46.2% 66.7% Fourth-Down Conversions 1-2 1-1 Percentage 50.0% 100.0% Sacks By: No.-Yards 1-6 3-34 Junior vyper Isaiah Foskey recorded five tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles against the Trojans. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER