Blue and Gold Illustrated

GAME PREVIEW: USC last November when they traveled to USC. Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler shredded Notre Dame to the tune of 372 yards and six touchdowns while completing 80 percent of his passes. Kessler is off to another strong start and the Trojans are averaging 316.8 yards per game through the air. Kessler 's top target is sophomore JuJu Smith- Schuster, who has emerged as one of the nation's premier pass catchers. He has racked up 33 recep- tions for 619 yards and six scores in five games. The Irish pass defense has been inconsistent. Notre Dame held Texas to just 103 yards through the air on just 8-of-23 passing and limited Clemson to 11-of-22 passing for 97 yards. Sandwiched in between those two games were the strong performances by the Vir- ginia and UMass quarterbacks, who threw for 295.5 yards per game against the Irish defense. ADVANTAGE: USC NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. USC RUN DEFENSE Outside of its 116-yard performance on a rain- soaked field at Clemson, the Irish run game has been dominant. Notre Dame rushed for at least 200 yards in the first four games for the first time since 1989, and averaged an impressive 251.0 yards per contest and 6.2 yards per carry through the first five games of the season. Senior running back C.J. Prosise has led the way, averaging 130.0 yards per game. Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer is also proving to be a more potent weapon with his legs, leading Notre Dame with 60 rushing yards against Clemson. The Trojans have allowed 158.2 rushing yards per game overall, but against their three Power Five op- ponents they surrendered 170.7 yards per contest. Stanford (195 yards), Arizona State (182 yards) and Washington (135 yards) all found a high level of suc- cess on the ground against USC. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. USC PASS DEFENSE Kizer has continued to mature and develop. His fourth-quarter performance against Clemson (9-of-12 passing for 202 yards with two touchdowns) was out- standing and got the Irish back in that game. He has shown poise beyond his years and is getting the Irish offense back on track. Junior wide receiver Will Fuller remains Notre Dame's most dynamic playmaker, averaging 20.5 yards per catch through the first five games and scoring six touchdowns. Kizer is getting more com- fortable going over the middle, evidenced by the 18 receptions for 211 yards made by the slot receivers and tight ends against UMass and Clemson. The Trojans are allowing 229.6 passing yards per game at a 6.3 yards per attempt clip with oppos- ing quarterbacks posting a 111.82 pass efficiency rating, which ranks 37th nationally. USC shut down Arkansas State and Idaho — but gave up 279 yards to Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, who completed 75 percent of his passes and threw a pair of scores in the 41-31 Cardinal win. Arizona State also passed for 272 yards against the Trojans. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Up until the loss to Clemson, the Irish special teams had put on a strong performance in 2015, but a shanked punt, a fumbled kickoff and poor coverage (32.0 yards allowed per kick return) proved costly. Against USC's dynamic sophomore return man Adoree' Jackson, the Irish coverage teams must be on top of their game. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014. Notre Dame punter Tyler Newsome continues his strong season, averaging 44.4 yards per attempt with nine kicks traveling more than 50 yards. ADVANTAGE: Even COACHING USC dominated this rivalry from 2002-09, winning each contest during that stretch by an average of 24.5 points per game. When Brian Kelly arrived in South Bend, he started to turn the tide. The Irish ended their eight-game losing streak to the Tro-

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