Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED just 33.0 yards per game in the season's first three games, but once Darnold came along his average jumped up to 83.3 yards a game. Notre Dame's pass defense has been inconsis- tent this season, and its numbers tell two different stories. The Irish defense ranked 15th nationally after 10 games, giving up just 188.5 passing yards per game. Its 10 touchdown passes allowed also ranked 15th. Those numbers are a bit misleading, because Notre Dame benefitted from playing two option opponents and facing North Carolina State in the middle of a hurricane. In those three contests, Notre Dame gave up a total of 102 yards. In its other seven games, Notre Dame gave up 254.7 yards per game, which would rank 91st nationally. The Irish have allowed opponents to average 7.4 yards per pass attempt, 12.4 yards per completion and to put up a 129.7 pass efficiency rating. Those numbers ranked the defense 71st, 67th and 62th in the country. Advantage: USC NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. USC RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame's rushing offense has been wildly erratic this season. Notre Dame ran for 445 yards in the first two games of the season, and racked up a season-high 261 yards in its 44-6 win over Army Nov. 12. In between those three quality performances, the Irish run game went for just 128.6 yards per game. During that stretch, Notre Dame hovered be- tween 147 yards (Navy) and 183 yards (Syracuse). It was a pair of poor performances, one against Michigan State (57 yards) and one against North Carolina State (59 yards) that brought down its overall statistics and rankings. Sophomore running back Josh Adams has led the team in rushing for most of the season and had 653 yards through 10 games. Senior Tarean Folston and sophomore Dexter Williams have complemented Adams, combining for 500 yards and five scores. Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer paced the offense with seven rushing touchdowns through 10 contests while adding 440 rushing yards. In 21 starts at Notre Dame, Kizer has rushed for 949 yards and 17 touchdowns. The USC run defense has been equally incon- sistent this season. USC gave up 302 yards on the ground in its loss to Stanford, 242 yards in its loss to Alabama and 186 yards in its loss to Utah. The Trojans also gave up 201 yards in a victory over Arizona. In its other six contests through Nov. 12, the Tro- jans held opponents to just 44.3 yards per game. It has been especially effective in November, holding Oregon and Washington to a combined 102 yards in a pair of victories. USC's top run defender through 10 games was sophomore linebacker Cameron Smith, who led the team with 66 tackles during that stretch. Sophomore outside linebacker Porter Gustin has GAME PREVIEW: USC Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 205 So. 81 Miles Boykin 6-3½ 222 So. WR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 15 Corey Holmes 6-0½ 190 Jr. LT 68 Mike McGlinchey 6-7½ 310 Sr. 70 Hunter Bivin 6-5½ 308 Sr. LG 56 Quenton Nelson 6-4¾ 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3¼ 300 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2¼ 310 Jr. 66 Tristen Hoge 6-4¼ 310 So. RG 75 Mark Harrell 6-4 306 5th-Sr. or 62 Colin McGovern 6-4½ 310 Sr. RT 71 Alex Bars 6-6 320 Jr. 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-4¾ 315 Fr. TE 80 Durham Smythe 6-4½ 245 Sr. 82 Nic Weishar 6-4 240 Jr. WR 16 Torii Hunter Jr. 6-0 195 Sr. 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 181 Fr. QB 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. 9 Malik Zaire 6-0 225 Sr. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-1½ 220 So. 25 Tarean Folston 5-9½ 214 Sr. or 2 Dexter Williams 5-10¾ 210 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DL 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-3½ 255 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-3½ 250 Fr. or 93 Jay Hayes 6-3 285 Jr. DL 94 Jarron Jones 6-5½ 315 5th-Sr. 75 Daniel Cage 6-1 315 Jr. DL 99 Jerry Tillery 6-6½ 310 So. 58 Elijah Taylor 6-2¾ 285 So. DL 90 Isaac Rochell 6-3½ 290 Sr. 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-3 286 Jr. LB 5 Nyles Morgan 6-0¾ 245 Jr. 48 Greer Martini 6-2½ 240 Jr. LB 17 James Onwualu 6-1 232 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-2½ 225 Fr. LB 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 235 So. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 230 So. CB 27 Julian Love 5-10½ 190 Fr. 35 Donte Vaughn 6-2 200 Fr. S 23 Drue Tranquill 6-1½ 225 Jr. 21 Jalen Elliott 5-11¾ 195 Fr. S 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 198 Fr. 28 Nicco Fertitta 5-8¼ 185 So. CB 36 Cole Luke 5-11 195 Sr. 18 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11 180 Fr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 43 John Chereson 5-9 178 Sr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-9¾ 165 So. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-0½ 215 Jr. 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 61 Scott Daly 6-1½ 250 5th-Sr. 54 John Shannon 6-1¾ 220 Fr. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. Special Teams Junior Adoree' Jackson ranked seventh nationally in punt return average (14.7 per runback) and ninth in kick return average (29.0 yards a return) through Nov. 12. PHOTO BY PERCY ANDERSON/COURTESY USC