Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 OCT. 28, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED petitors don't pick and choose when the compete for a game," Freeman said. They don't call them the Fighting Irish for nothing. IRISH COME OUT PREPARED One week prior, Notre Dame head was not prepared for a game. He didn't know why. He knew it was unacceptable. And he was set to challenge himself and his coaching staff to do a better job entering a home matchup against USC. They did. What changed? "I wish I had the answer," Freeman said. "You always go back and look to your preparation and say, 'Okay, how can we enhance the way we prepare?'" Particularly on defense, Notre Dame came ready to play. On the first snap of the game, graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand saw USC redshirt senior left tackle Michael Tarquin pulling through his gap, ready to deliver a block. Bertrand read it, reacted and boom, he laid a hit on Tarquin in the hole. He and gradu- ate student defensive end Jean-Baptiste combined for the tackle for a gain of 1. It might have seemed small at the time, but Bertrand's downhill attack set the tone for the rest of the game. That, just like the previous week, was a reflec- tion on the coaching staff. "It's always the coaches' fault," Free- man said. "We have to own that and al- ways coach better. We have to take pride in that the production you see on the field is a result of how we coach." "We have great coaches and great players that believe in it," Bertrand said. Three plays after Bertrand laid the foundation, senior safety Xavier Watts kick-started a blowout effort for the Irish with his first of 2 interceptions that led to Notre Dame touchdowns. It was a dream start to the game, and it was exactly what the Irish needed. "Yeah, it definitely boosted us," Watts said. "Gave us momentum. We needed some juice. We got some juice." Freeman's directive to his players and his coaching staff was to ask themselves if they're competitors who can "hold your chin up throughout tough times." He also didn't want their motivation to be what happened in Louisville. He wanted that to come from within. "I challenged those guys and said, 'Are 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 4:44 5:47 6:48 8:06 10:31 14:54 25:25 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 0-1 1-4 0-1 2-5 1-5 3-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position ND-46 USC-40 ND-22 USC-25 USC-47 ND-39 ND-46 USC 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 10:16 9:13 8:12 6:45 19:29 15:06 34:35 Third-Down Conversions 1-3 2-4 1-3 2-3 3-7 3-6 6-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-2 0-0 0-1 1-2 0-1 1-3 Average Field Position USC-26 USC-20 USC-32 USC-34 USC-23 USC-33 USC-28 Play Chart (No. of Plays) Yards ND USC Nega ve 3 10 0-5 31 37 6-9 8 9 10-19 5 13 20-29 1 2 30-39 0 1 40-49 1 0 50 or more 0 1 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 5 3 2 0 USC 2 1 1 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 2-10 USC46 Hartman pass to Tyree for 46 yards and a touchdown USC • 2-6 ND31 Lloyd run for 31 yards and a touchdown Head coach Marcus Freeman was pleased that his team opened the game with a high level of play and then maintained it for the full 60 minutes. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The Fighting Irish notched their sixth straight win over USC at Notre Dame Stadium and is now 29-14-1 all time against the Trojans in the "House That Rockne Built." The Irish also now lead the all-time series 60-38-5. • Notre Dame earned its 83rd victory over a top-10 team and the first since last year's 35-14 win over No. 4 Clemson. • The Fighting Irish improved to 15-3-0 all time on Oct. 14. • Freshman wide receiver Jordan Faison made his first career start and also logged his first career rushing attempt, which netted 16 yards. • Sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed and freshman defensive end Boubacar Traore both notched their first career sacks.