Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 14, 2023 37 GAME PREVIEW: USC needs to avoid with Williams. For what it's worth, Pyne actually kept up with Williams in the numbers department last year. He completed 23 of 26 passes for 318 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. Williams connected on 18 of 22 throws for 232 yards with 1 score and no picks. He also added 3 rushing touchdowns, though, and those were the difference. He made plays Pyne simply could not, and he also didn't turn the ball over. Hartman is a playmaker. And at Notre Dame, he's protecting the ball better than he ever has in his six-year college career. The way this matchup is trend- ing, it could truly be one of the best quarterback duels in college football this year. Of course, each team's respective running games could be the great equal- izer at the same time. Through Week 5, Notre Dame had two running backs averaging at least 7.0 yards per carry in Estimé and freshman Jeremiyah Love. USC had three tailbacks over 7.0 yards per rush through Week 5 with MarShawn Lloyd, Austin Jones and Quinten Joyner. Notre Dame only averaged 3.5 yards per carry on a Trojans defense that ranked No. 117 in the FBS in yards al- lowed per attempt at 4.98 in 2022. Through Week 5 in 2023, the Trojans were still giving up more than 4.0 yards per carry this season. That's a number Notre Dame just has to get to in this game. It'll make life easier on Hartman. It'll set the tone for the game in general. So much is made of USC being all glitz and no grit. The national narrative is the Trojans are flashy, yes, and have a potent offense, yes, but when they get punched in the mouth, they can't re- spond. They also seem to let teams that shouldn't have a fighter's chance punch above their weight class. Colorado had no business making it a seven-point game, but the Buffs did so anyway. Notre Dame is on another level than Colorado. And the Irish are at home. Yes, Williams is a machine. He's scary for anybody to go against. But if Notre Dame doesn't give Williams at least a scare as well then it would be a dis- appointing result for the home team. Notre Dame can't criticize USC's de- ficiencies and then not exploit them. Hypocrisy isn't the end goal. This is a series built on dominant stretches and long winning streaks. But this year has the makings of the first flip-flop in who emerges victori- ous since 2016-17. The ball is in Notre Dame's court. ✦ 2023 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 26 vs. Navy* W, 42-3 Sept. 2 Tennessee State W, 56-3 Sept. 9 at NC State W, 45-24 Sept. 16 Central Michigan W, 41-17 Sept. 23 Ohio State L, 17-14 Sept. 30 at Duke W, 21-14 Oct. 7 at Louisville L, 33-20 Oct. 14 USC (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 Pittsburgh (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at Clemson (ABC) TBA Nov. 18 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Stanford TBA * at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland Head coach Lincoln Riley still needs his defense to improve for the Trojans to be true national title contenders. PHOTO COURTESY USC ATHLETICS 2023 USC SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 26 San Jose State W, 56-28 Sept. 2 Nevada W, 66-14 Sept. 9 Stanford W, 56-10 Sept. 23 at Arizona State W, 42-28 Sept. 30 at Colorado W, 48-41 Oct. 7 Arizona W, 43-41 (3OT) Oct. 14 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 Utah TBA Oct. 28 at California TBA Nov. 4 Washington TBA Nov. 11 at Oregon TBA Nov. 18 UCLA TBA