Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530074
20 DECEMBER 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED wide receiver and former Notre Dame and Alabama quarterback Tyler Buch- ner completed a 23-yard pass to senior tight end Mitchell Evans on a fake punt … Senior kicker Mitch Jeter missed a 27- yard field goal wide right … The Trojans responded to the Irish's late-half touch- down with one on their own, going 78 yards in 5 plays and 31 seconds. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 35, USC 21 Top moment: Notre Dame junior running back Jadarian Price went 36 yards to the house for his seventh score of the season, putting the Irish ahead 21-14 at the time. Feature performer: Price gained 99 yards on 6 carries. He had twice as many carries as Love and Leonard combined. Notable Stats: Notre Dame outgained USC 213 to 123 in total yards. The Irish averaged 12.5 yards per play to the Tro- jans' 5.6. The Trojans possessed the ball for 8:02 while the Irish had it for 6:58. Items: Maiava tied the game at 21-21 with another 1-yard keeper … Leon- ard scored his 14th rushing touchdown of the season, which tied an all-time single-season Notre Dame record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback … Leonard also threw his fifth interception of the season … Leonard followed up the interception with a 23-yard touchdown toss to Evans on his next attempt. FOURTH QUARTER NOTRE DAME 49, USC 35 Top moment: Gray and graduate student safety Xavier Watts had 99- and 100-yard interception returns for touchdowns, respectively, on back-to- back USC possessions to make the score Notre Dame 49, USC 28. Feature performer: Notre Dame punter James Rendell booted two punts for an average of 51.0 yards with the Irish trying to win the field position battle. Notable Stats: USC outgained Notre Dame 246 to 5 in total yards. The Trojans averaged 9.1 yards per play to the Irish's 0.6. The Trojans possessed the ball for 9:37 while the Irish had it for 5:23. Items: Maiava brought the Trojans within one score, 35-28, with a 6-yard touchdown pass halfway through the quarter … Maiava threw another touch- down pass with 17 seconds left to save some face for the home team. ✦ 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Notre Dame 7 7 21 14 49 USC 0 14 7 14 35 ND USC Total First Downs 23 29 Rushing 11 11 Passing 9 16 Penalty 3 2 Rushing Attempts 38 28 Yards Gained Rushing 269 203 Yards Lost Rushing 11 6 Net Yards Rushing 258 197 Net Yards Passing 178 360 Passes Attempted 23 49 Passes Completed 18 27 Had Intercepted 1 2 Percent Completion 78.3% 55.1% Yards Per Attempt 7.7 7.3 Yards Per Completion 9.9 13.3 Total Offensive Plays, 61 77 Total Net Yards 436 557 Average Gain Per Play 7.1 7.2 Fumbles: No.-Lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties: No.-Yards 3-44 7-69 Punts: No.-Yards 2-102 4-183 Average Per Punt 51.0 45.8 Average Net Punt 45.5 39.0 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 1-7 2-11 Kickoff Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 6-117 Interception Returns: No.-Yards 2-199 1-15 Fumble Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 1-0 Miscellaneous Yards 0 0 Possession Time 29:45 30:15 Third-Down Conversions 3-9 5-12 Percentage 33.3% 41.7% Fourth-Down Conversions 3-3 0-3 Percentage 100.0% 0.0% Sacks By: No.-Yards 1-5 2-9 ND USC FIRST QUARTER ND Love 1-yard run (Jeter kick) 2:28 7 0 Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 7:14 SECOND QUARTER USC Maiava 1-yard run (Lantz kick) 12:07 7 7 Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 2:47 ND Raridon 12-yard pass from Leonard (Jeter kick) 0:59 14 7 Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:27 USC Lane 12-yard pass from Maiava (Lantz kick) 0:24 14 14 Drive: 5 plays, 78 yards, 0:31 THIRD QUARTER ND Price 36-yard run (Jeter kick) 12:38 21 14 Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:22 USC Maiava 1-yard run (Lantz kick) 9:06 21 21 Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:27 ND Leonard 2-yard run (Jeter kick) 6:27 28 21 Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:39 ND Evans 23-yard pass from Leonard (Jeter kick) 1:11 35 21 Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards, 1:06 FOURTH QUARTER USC Lane 6-yard pass from Maiava (Lantz kick) 8:43 35 28 Drive: 5 plays, 45 yards, 3:09 ND Gray 99-yard interception return (Jeter kick) 3:39 42 28 ND Watts 100-yard interception return (Jeter kick) 1:18 49 28 USC Lane 8-yard pass from Maiava (Lantz kick) 0:13 49 35 Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:05 Senior tight end Mitchell Evans' 23-yard touchdown grab on a perfectly thrown ball by quarterback Riley Leonard gave the Irish their first two-score lead late in the third quarter. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER NOTRE DAME 49, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 35 Nov. 30, 2024 ✦ Attendance: 73,241 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ✦ Los Angeles