Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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9-of-20 passing with 31 rushing yards on five carries (not counting one sack for minus-13 yards), while Golson threw for 75 yards on 7-of-18 pass- ing and did not have any rushing attempts. He was, however, sacked three times for minus-14 yards. Kessler outperformed both Irish quarterbacks combined by complet- ing 32 of 40 passes for 372 yards. Ju- nior wide receiver Nelson Agholor led the Trojans with 12 receptions for 120 yards and a score, while red- shirt junior wideout George Farmer added four catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns. Fifth-year senior tight end Randall Telfer, sophomore wide receiver Darreus Rogers and freshman wideout/cornerback Ado- ree' Jackson also caught touchdown tosses from Kessler. "I was in tune with Cody on of- fense," Sarkisian said. "He knew what we were trying to get accom- plished. We were very clear about that. He is the extension of us on of- fense. The game plan was very clear for everybody." Facing a defense suffering from a seemingly endless string of injuries, Kessler and the Trojans exploited the Irish's lack of depth early and often. While Notre Dame's first six posses- sions crossed midfield for a total of one play — a Golson interception that went through the hands of sopho- more wide receiver Corey Robinson — USC's resulted in five consecu- tive touchdowns after opening with a long drive ending in a punt. "It was obvious today how tough it was for them to get lined up with the up-tempo," Kessler said. "It really played to our advantage today. On a personnel note, we have done a really good job of rotating guys in and out. "That is what is really cool about our depth. It really helps our offense." Notre Dame could not match that depth to start with, and that issue only deepened when five differ- ent defenders were knocked from the game, including three starters: sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Matuska, sophomore safety Max Red- field and freshman linebacker Greer Martini. The Trojans' offense finally slowed in the second half when it had only four possessions, although Sarkisian's conservative nature certainly skewed that number lower than it could have been. USC covered 57 yards on 17 plays in 10:04 to bridge the third and fourth quarters, only to turn the ball over on downs on Notre Dame's 18- yard line. The prolific Trojan offense gained 577 total yards and converted 13 of 18 third downs (72.2 percent), holding the ball for 15 more minutes than the Irish. "They were running the ball in- side, and we weren't stopping the run," Notre Dame sophomore de- fensive lineman Isaac Rochell said. "It was just a series of things that we weren't defending. I would say it was definitely the passing game and definitely the run game, just both, all around. "When a team beats you by 35 points, you just got punched in the mouth." The Irish gained a respectable 349 total yards, helped by sophomore running back Greg Bryant's 79 yards