Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 11, 2025 43 OPPONENT ON DECK: SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS Date: Oct. 18, 2025 Site (Capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET All-time series: Notre Dame leads 52-38-5 Last meeting: Notre Dame 49, Southern Cal 35 (Nov. 30, 2024 at Los Angeles) 2025 Record To Date: 4-1 (2-1 Big Ten) Southern Cal head coach: Lincoln Riley (30-15, fourth season) Season summary: Southern Cal's first test of the 2025 season, a Sept. 27 day game at Illinois, felt all too familiar. It was close. The Trojans mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback and took the lead with 1:55 to go. Turnovers hurt both sides, though the Fighting Illini's were worse as they fumbled twice inside the Trojans' 5-yard line. But in the end, the tougher team prevailed. And that team was not Southern Cal. Illinois got the ball back down by a point after Southern Cal's go-ahead touchdown. The Illini ran for gains of 9, 8, 13 and 6 yards, marching into field goal range without completing a pass. Illinois kicked a 41-yard field goal to beat Southern Cal 34-32. After going 2-5 in one-score games a year ago, Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and company hoped things would be different. The story of their 2025 season is far from written, but so far, they've only seen more of the same. However, the Trojans remain dangerous as long as their quarterback and No. 1 wide receiver are available. After starting the final four games of 2024, redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava entered Week 6 second in college football at 11.4 yards per attempt. Junior wide receiver Makai Lemon, meanwhile, leads the nation in receiving yards with 589. As always, though, the question for the Trojans is the defense. Without their best player, redshirt junior safety Kamari Ramsey, the Trojans' second- ary got exposed at Illinois. And up front, Riley's Southern Cal teams have always been shaky, and this year appears to be no different. Getting into a track meet against Maiava and Lemon is risky, but Notre Dame's offense is good enough to win it. Redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava entered Week 6 ranked second in college football at 11.4 yards per passing attempt. PHOTO COURTESY SOUTHERN CAL ATHLETICS On Deck 2025 SOUTHERN CAL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 30 Missouri State W, 73-13 Sept. 6 Georgia Southern W, 59-20 Sept. 13 at Purdue W, 33-17 Sept. 20 Michigan State W, 45-31 Sept. 27 at Illinois L, 34-32 Oct. 11 Michigan (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Nebraska TBD Nov. 7 Northwestern (FOX) 9 p.m. Nov. 15 Iowa 3 or 3:30 p.m. Nov. 22 at Oregon TBD Nov. 29 UCLA TBD OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 8 Ja'Kobi Lane 6-4 200 Jr. 15 Jaden Richardson 6-1 205 R-Sr. WR 6 Makai Lemon 5-11 195 Jr. 9 Jay Fair 5-10 190 Sr. WR 16 Tanook Hines 6-0 195 Fr. 19 DJ Jordan 6-0 175 R-Fr. LT 72 Elijah Paige 6-7 325 R-So. 74 Justin Tauanuu 6-6 315 R-Fr. LG 73 Tobias Raymond 6-6 315 R-So. 59 Micah Banuelos 6-2 310 R-So. C 67 Kilian O'Connor 6-1 295 R-Jr. 50 J'Onre Reed 6-3 320 R-Sr. RG 77 Alani Noa 6-3 315 Jr. 60 Kaylon Miller 6-0 290 R-Fr. RT 74 Justin Tauanuu 6-6 315 R-Fr. 79 Elijah Vaikona 6-8 385 Fr. TE 87 Lake McRee 6-4 250 R-Sr. 85 Walker Lyons 6-4 245 So. QB 14 Jayden Maiava 6-4 230 R-Jr. 4 Husan Longstreet 6-0 200 Fr. RB 2 Waymond Jordan 5-10 210 Jr. 1 Eli Sanders 5-10 200 R-Sr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 1 Kameryn Crawford 6-5 265 So. 10 Braylan Shelby 6-5 265 Jr. DT 8 Devan Thompkins 6-5 290 R-Jr. 9 Keeshawn Silver 6-4 330 R-Sr. DT 97 Jide Abasiri 6-5 295 So. 4 Jahkeem Stewart 6-5 290 Fr. DE 6 Anthony Lucas 6-5 285 Sr. 8 Devan Thompkins 6-5 290 R-Jr. or 38 Garrett Pomerantz 6-2 225 R-Jr. MIKE 23 Desman Stephens II 6-3 235 So. 31 Jadyn Walker 6-2 235 R-Fr. WILL 14 Ta'Mere Robinson 6-3 230 R-So. or 26 Elijah Newby 6-3 235 R-Fr. SAM 18 Eric Gentry 6-6 225 R-Sr. 15 Anthony Beavers Jr. 6-1 230 R-Sr. or 44 Matai Tagoa'i 6-4 205 Fr. CB 25 Marcelles Williams 5-11 185 R-Fr. 2 DJ Harvey 5-10 190 R-Sr. S 7 Kamari Ramsey 6-0 205 R-Jr. 24 Christian Pierce 6-1 205 Jr. S 19 Bishop Fitzgerald 5-11 205 R-Sr. 28 Kennedy Urlacher 5-11 195 So. CB 17 DeCarlos Nicholson 6-3 200 R-Sr. 22 Braylon Conley 6-0 190 R-Fr. SOUTHERN CAL TROJANS TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 48 Ryon Sayeri 5-11 180 R-Fr. 93 William Weisberg 6-2 190 Fr. KO 48 Ryon Sayeri 5-11 180 R-Fr. 93 William Weisberg 6-2 190 Fr. P 80 Sam Johnson 6-3 225 R-Sr. 48 Ryon Sayeri 5-11 180 R-Fr. LS 31 Hank Pepper 6-1 215 R-Sr. 47 Devin McDonough 6-2 230 R-Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. H 80 Sam Johnson 6-3 225 R-Sr. 48 Ryon Sayeri 5-11 180 R-Fr. PR 6 Makai Lemon 5-11 195 Jr. 0 Zacharyus Williams 6-2 195 So. KR 6 Makai Lemon 5-11 195 Jr. 1 Eli Sanders 5-10 200 R-Sr. SPECIAL TEAMS