Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/187176
Game Preview: USC There was one other event that week: An actual football game. Whereas Notre Dame came out sluggish, almost tight and seemingly unfocused, USC was sharp and determined. The Trojans drove 66 and 62 yards for touchdowns on their first two possessions for a quick 14-0 first-quarter lead, and they staved off the Irish thereafter in the 31-17 conquest. It was similar to this year's Oklahoma game where the Sooners moved quickly ahead 14-0 and held on to maintain that two-touchdown cushion in a 35‑21 win. "We may have bought into the hype somewhat," Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith said after the USC loss. USC second-year head coach Lane Kiffin noted how the "Super Bowl" atmosphere at Notre Dame helped his team concentrate better on the task at hand. "Our guys came in and just wanted to make sure that we played really well and didn't worry about everything else" Kiffin said. "If you would have seen our guys in warm-ups, they were really low key and saving their energy and were not buying into all of the energy on the sidelines." Two years later, USC is back in town, coming in like a wounded animal. The game is at night again, with two weeks to prepare for Notre Dame, and it's one of the bigger recruiting visit weekends ever at a Notre Dame football game, with at least a dozen official visits and numerous other unofficial treks. This time, Kiffin won't be on USC's sidelines. He was ousted after the 6241 drubbing at Arizona State Sept. 28, which dropped his career record at USC to 28-15. It's a similar scene to 2011, but hopefully a different outcome. Keep 'Em On The Run One of Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly's favorite individual performances of last season was senior Theo Riddick's 146 rushing yards on 20 carries at USC in the 22-13 victory. Riddick didn't have any game-breaking runs (his longest gain was 20), but he repeatedly barreled through for the tough inside yardage. "He broke countless tackles and got us the tough yards that we needed," Kelly praised. "You just look at his jersey after the game, and there's no wonder why this team has the toughness it does." Notre Dame outrushed USC 222-95 yards, a sharp contrast to the Irish getting outrushed by the Trojans 219‑41 a year earlier in a 31-17 loss at home. In fact, during Notre Dame's current five-game losing streak at home to USC it has averaged only 87 rushing yards per contest. Against a USC five-man front line led by fifth-year senior outside linebacker Devon Kennard, it will be mandatory for the Irish to not place too much on the passing game to produce points. In its first four games this season, USC's defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage, holding its four opponents in check with the run: Hawaii (23 rushing yards), Washington State (seven), Boston College (101) and Utah State (118).