Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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move the chains enough without the miscues. On USC's second-to-last drive in the fourth quarter — which started at the Irish 34-yard line after a fumble recovery — the offense committed a pair of holding penalties and a false start infraction. After backing up due to penalties, USC attempted a desperate fourth-and-20 when junior defensive end Stephon Tuitt notched his second sack of the game and snuffed out the Trojans' best scoring chance in the final period. USC Struggles On Third Down wide receiver Nelson Agholor recorded punt returns of 48, 34 and 16 yards, with the first two putting the Trojans within the Notre Dame 35-yard line. The Irish third-down defense represented a primary reason why those three returns led to a total of three points. "Special teams really put our defense in some tough situations," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "Obviously, the [fourth-quarter fumble by junior running back Cam McDaniel] put us in a tough situation. A kickoff return, as well. "Our defense just kept battling, and that's just the way our guys compete here at Notre Dame. They keep playing every single day. They don't really care about where they are on the field, they just play the next play." Also contributing to the Trojans' feeble offensive output: Junior Andre Heidari missed field goal attempts of 40 and 46 yards. USC redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Kessler converted on a pair of third downs on USC's first drive — a series that resulted in the Trojans' only touchdown — to keep the chains moving and the team's offense on the field. That success, however, ended at the conclusion of the drive. After USC's 2-of-2 start on third-down conversions on the opening drive, the Trojans went 0 of 11 the rest of the way and also failed to convert their two fourthdown attempts. With third downs held in check by the Irish defense, USC missed Senior linebacker Prince Shembo out on plenty of op- and the Irish defense held redportunities to over- shirt sophomore quarterback Cody Kessler and the Trojans to 0 come the 14-10 deficit for 11 on third-down conversions the rest of the game. after their opening drive. USC sophomore photo by Bill panzica Jaylon Smith Keeps Hot Streak Freshman Dog linebacker Jaylon Smith forced the lone USC turnover of the game in the opening 90 seconds of the second half when he stepped in front of sophomore wide receiver Nelson Agholor and picked off redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Kessler. "I didn't expect it, but I knew I was in the right position," Smith said. "Anytime you make a play it's always good. It's always positive when we do something good for the team." Smith recorded four tackles