Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1421675
26 OCT. 30, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Notre Dame was without his tenacious presence on the field against USC. Ultimately, though, it didn't matter. His replacement, senior DJ Brown, was one of the Irish's best defensive players in the 31-16 victory. There were a lot of impressive individual performances, but Brown had one of the best. "He did a really fine job for us," Kelly said. "He did that last year against UNC as well. So, I think it's time we start rec- ognizing really solid football players like DJ has been for us." Players like Hamilton naturally at- tract more praise from the masses than guys like Brown. But good defensive football is good defensive football, and Brown played it against the Trojans. He tied for the team lead in tackles with seven, six of which were unas- sisted. USC wide receiver Drake London slipped past the Notre Dame corner- backs on many of his 15 catches for 171 yards. Brown always seemed to be in a good position to make sure London never crossed the goal line. Keeping London out of the end zone was a team effort. It wasn't all Brown. Senior cornerback TaRiq Bracy had one of the best games of his career play- ing primarily nickel corner. He also had seven tackles. "It's always hard seeing your brother down, but coach stressed unit strength and next man up," Bracy said. "So, we were OK and were able to help Kyle out and get the win." Kelly said he used Bracy as an example in a message to the entire team. He pointed to the way Bracy "bullied" opposing wide receivers on the line of scrimmage and wouldn't let them release easily into their routes. All 5-10, 177 pounds of him. "He played the way I was hoping he would play when he came in as a fresh- man," Kelly said. "It's great to see a player play his best football in his fourth season. I'm really proud of him tonight." It didn't matter if USC outgained Notre Dame 424-383 in total yards. It didn't matter if the Irish allowed Lon- don's Biletnikoff Award campaign to continue with the most receiving yards he's gained in a game this season. Notre Dame limited USC to its lowest point total of the year. And the Irish did NOTRE DAME VS. USC QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 9:22 4:36 7:08 10:27 13:58 17:35 31:33 Third-Down Conversions 3-4 1-2 1-3 3-3 4-6 4-6 8-12 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 Average Field Position ND-19 USC-40 ND-22 ND-45 ND-40 ND-36 ND-37 USC 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 5:38 10:24 7:52 4:33 16:02 12:25 28:27 Third-Down Conversions 0-1 2-4 2-4 2-2 2-5 4-6 6-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 0-1 1-2 Average Field Position USC-23 USC-24 USC-23 USC-17 USC-24 USC-20 USC-22 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND USC Nega ve 5 4 0-5 42 35 6-9 8 16 10-19 12 10 20-29 1 3 30-39 1 1 40-49 0 1 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 7 4 1 2 USC 4 2 1 1 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 3-8 UND12 Bauer 79-yard intercep on return to USC4 • 1-10 UND25 Coan pass to Styles for 29 yards to USC46 • 2-9 UND36 Williams 38-yard run to USC26 USC • 1-10 UND43 Slovis pass to London for 29 yards to UND14 • 1-10 USC45 Slovis pass to Epps for 30 yards to UND25 • 1-10 USC14 Slovis pass to London for 44 yards to UND42 Hamilton left in the first half due to a knee injury, which head coach Brian Kelly called a "pinched fat pad." PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The win marked Notre Dame's 50th of all time against USC, bringing its record to 50- 37-5 since the inception of the storied series in 1926. The Irish only have beaten two other schools more — Navy (79) and Purdue (58). They have also defeated Pittsburgh 50 times. • Notre Dame compiled three rushing touch- downs in a single game for the first time this season and the first time since the 45-21 win over Syracuse on Dec. 5, 2020. • Junior offensive lineman Andrew Kristofic made his first career start at left guard versus USC. • Sophomore tight end Michael Mayer notched five receptions for 54 yards against the Trojans. He now ranks 10th all time in Notre Dame history with 37 receptions on the season for a tight end.