Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530074
22 DECEMBER 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT A four-possession sequence in the third quarter was the turning point of this game when Notre Dame scored two touchdowns in 1:33 to turn a 21-21 tie into a 35-21 lead that was never legitimately threatened. Irish senior quarterback Riley Leonard scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to lift Notre Dame to a 28-21 advantage with 6:27 left in the third quarter. USC was forced to punt on its ensuing possession, but the Trojans were back in business when Leonard threw an ill-advised interception, setting USC up with a first down at the Notre Dame 45-yard line and a chance to tie the game. The Irish defense took over from there when it immediately turned the Trojans over on downs, which set up a quick 3-play, 62-yard touchdown drive that was capped with a 23- yard touchdown pass from Leonard to senior tight end Mitchell Evans. STATS OF THE GAME In Notre Dame's first true shootout of the season, the 84 total points scored were the most in series history. And the 35 USC points were the most scored by an Irish opponent this season. Louisville, with 24, had the previ- ous high for an Irish foe. In the span of 2:21 during the fourth quarter, the Irish scored two of the longest intercep- tion returns for touchdowns in program his- tory. Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray recorded a 99-yard pick and score at the 3:39 mark of the fourth quarter. On the ensuing USC possession, graduate student safety Xavier Watts intercepted a pass at the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. This marked Notre Dame's fifth and sixth de- fensive touchdowns of the season. In addition, the Fighting Irish went 3 of 3 on their fourth-down conversion attempts while USC was 0 of 3. RUNNING THE ROCK After much angst and concern to start this season surrounding the revamped Irish offen- sive line, given injuries and inexperience, this Notre Dame unit has proven to be among the best on the team through the regular season. Against USC, the Irish line paved the way for 258 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 38 carries (6.8 yards per rush). Junior tailback Jadarian Price paced the group with a career-high 111 yards on 12 car- ries, including a 36-yard scoring run in the third quarter that turned a 14-14 tie into a 21- 14 Irish lead. Sophomore tailback Jeremiyah Love finished with 13 carries for 99 yards and 1 touchdown. And senior quarterback Riley Leonard had 50 yards and 1 score. Notre Dame entered this game ranked 10th in the country in rushing offense at 221.8 yards per outing, and has now rushed for at least 200 yards in five straight games. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE CB CHRISTIAN GRAY Despite two pass interference penalties called against him, the Irish sophomore kept a short memory, held his ground, and finished the game with 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 passes broken up and 1 interception that he returned 99 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Gray's interception flipped what could've been a USC game-tying drive at 35-35 into a 42-28 Irish lead that put this game on ice. In an up-and-down game for Gray, with the USC offense singling him out in coverage, the young cornerback came up big at the biggest time. QB RILEY LEONARD The Irish senior continued his noticeable improvement in performance and confidence against USC with 155 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception through the air, and another 50 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. Leonard's 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his 14th rushing score of the season, which tied him with Brandon Wimbush in 2017 for the most in a single season by an Irish signal-caller. It was also Leonard's fifth straight game with at least one touchdown pass. Leonard's performance against USC gave him 30 total touchdowns on the season (16 pass, 14 rush). RB JEREMIYAH LOVE The Irish sophomore continued his late-season surge with 99 yards on 13 carries with 1 touchdown, and added 3 catches for 38 yards as a receiver, before leaving the game in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury. Love didn't need long to establish his impact on the game. On Notre Dame's first offensive possession, he carried 4 times for 36 yards and capped the 13-play, 72-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Irish an early 7-0 lead. Along the way, Love extended his streak to 12 straight games with a rushing touchdown, making him the first Irish tailback to reach that mark in program history. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Senior quarterback Riley Leonard had another strong game for the Irish, accounting for 205 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns with an efficient performance. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER