Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/187176
Game Preview: USC compile 133.80 yards per game. The Irish held only Purdue (38 yards) under the century mark among their first five games. Advantage: Even USC Passing Game Vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense A year ago, Notre Dame limited then-freshman Max Wittek and his powerful arm to 186 passing yards and a touchdown while intercepting him twice in a 22-13 victory at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In place of the injured Matt Barkley, Wittek had the first chance to make a strong impression in that game and in the Sun Bowl loss to Georgia Tech, but a pair of mediocre performances (14 of 37 for 107 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in the Sun Bowl) led to redshirt sophomore Cody Kessler earning the job late in fall camp in 2013. Except for an outstanding game against Boston College (15-of-17 passing for 237 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions) in a 35-7 romp, Kessler's accuracy has been inconsistent and the Trojans have limited him to short and intermediate throws. During the 62-41 embarrassment at Arizona State, USC's situation worsened with an injury to junior wide receiver Marqise Lee's knee. However, the go-to pass catcher — he caught 118 passes for 1,721 yards (14.6 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns last year en route to unanimous All-America, Biletnikoff Award (nation's top receiver) and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors — said he did not expect to miss any games. The Irish held Lee (five catches for 75 yards) in check in 2012, due in large part to settling for pass interference flags when he had a chance of snagging big catches. With a thin Trojans receiving unit — they were down to two scholarship receivers at one point in the Arizona State loss — Notre Dame's focus will be on Lee if he suits up. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame Running Game Vs. USC Run Defense Freshman safety Su'a Cravens, the 2012 USA Today Defensive National Player of the Year on the high school level, started each of USC's first five games and compiled 24 tackles (0.5 for loss) and two interceptions. photo by john Pyle Amidst a poor start to the season in the running game, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his staff sat junior George Atkinson III down in the film room and showed him the way they wanted him to run. The result: a season-high 148 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run, against Oklahoma. Notre Dame's 220yard rushing output was its best performance to that point and provided reasons for optimism after failing to record 100 yards on the ground against any of the three Big Ten teams on the schedule. If there's one unit that has lived up to expectations for the Trojans, it's their rushing defense. They allowed an average of 99.60 yards per game before Kiffin was