Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 28, 2016 39 been USC's most disruptive defender, leading the team with 9.5 tackles for loss. Advantage: USC NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. USC PASS DEFENSE Notre Dame's pass offense has been its strength for much of the 2016 season. The Irish ranked 43rd nationally through 10 games by averaging 254.8 yards per game. A 54-yard passing performance against North Carolina State during Hurricane Matthew weighs down the statistics a bit. In its other nine con- tests, Notre Dame averaged 277.1 yards per game, which would rank 29th. Kizer has been inconsistent with his play, but his numbers have been impressive for much of the season. The junior quarterback ranked 17th nationally in passing touchdowns (22), 23rd in pass efficiency (149.7) and 34th in passing yards (2,470) through Nov. 12. Sophomore wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown remains Kizer's top target, posting a team- leading 45 catches through 10 games. Through the season's first 11 weeks, St. Brown ranked 27th in the nation in receiving touchdowns (eight) and 40th in receiving yards (777). The rise of freshman Kevin Stepherson as a big- play threat has added to Notre Dame's offensive repertoire. Stepherson ranked 15th in the coun- try with a yards-per-catch average of 19.5. The Jacksonville, Fla., native hauled in 21 passes for 410 yards, which is Notre Dame's best produc- tion from a freshman wide receiver since Michael Floyd (2008-11) hauled in 48 passes for 719 yards in 2008. USC ranked 58th nationally in pass defense, giv- ing up 223.9 yards a game through 10 contests. Such numbers are not surprising in a league like the Pac-12, where teams look to throw the foot- ball a great deal. USC has held opponents to 6.6 yards per attempt and 11.5 yards per completion, which ranked 27th and 25th in the country. USC also ranked 39th in pass efficiency defense. One matchup to watch is USC's pass rush against the Notre Dame pass protectors. Through 10 games, USC ranked 80th in sacks while the Irish offense ranked 66th in sacks allowed. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame faces a significant statistical disad- vantage on special teams. USC junior return man Adoree' Jackson ranked seventh nationally in punt return average (14.7) and ninth in kick return aver- age (29.0) through Nov. 12. Jackson has returned a kick and a punt for a score this season. Notre Dame will look to defend Jackson with the nation's 58th-best kick coverage unit and the 123rd-best punt coverage unit. The only area where Notre Dame stacked up against USC on paper is with its kick return game. Jackson has a better average than Notre Dame returner C.J. Sanders (29.0 to 27.6), but Sanders has returned two kicks for a score this season and ranked 14th in the country for kick return average. Advantage: USC COACHING Based strictly on this season, it would seem that USC enters this matchup with the coaching advantage. USC head coach Clay Helton is just 13-7 during his brief stint as a head coach, which does not compare with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly's 230-86-2 record. Notre Dame clearly has the experience advantage at the top, but the USC staff has done a much better job this season. Like Notre Dame, USC began the season 1-3, suffering an embarrassing loss to Alabama before dropping games against Stanford and Utah. Un- like Notre Dame, the Trojans staff has been able to push the right buttons to get the program back on track. USC rebounded from its 1-3 start to win its next six games by a combined margin of 19.7 points per game. During that stretch, USC knocked off then-No. 21 Colorado at home (21-17) Oct. 8 and beat then-No. 4 Washington on the road (26-13). Notre Dame dropped games to unranked foes North Carolina State, Stanford and Navy during that same stretch. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES USC will enter this contest with a great deal of momentum. It also owns a 49-14 victory over Notre Dame the last time these two teams met in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Notre Dame will likely be playing for a shot at a bowl berth and will look to salvage what has been an incredibly disappointing season. USC has been able to go toe-to-toe with a pair of ranked teams after its rough start, and it won hard-fought games both times. Notre Dame has yet to be able to show that kind of ability this season. Advantage: USC GAME PREVIEW: USC Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 1 Darreus Rogers 6-1 215 Sr. 6 Michael Pittman Jr. 6-4 210 Fr. or 15 Isaac Whitney 6-3 220 5th-Sr. WR 80 Deontay Burnett 6-0 170 So. 10 Jalen Greene 6-1 200 R-So. TE 48 Taylor McNamara 6-5 245 5th-Sr. 82 Tyler Petite 6-5 235 So. or 88 D. Imatorbhebhe 6-4 240 R-Fr. RT 73 Zach Banner 6-9 360 5th-Sr. 70 Chuma Edoga 6-4 290 So. RG 60 Viane Talamaivao 6-2 315 Jr. 68 Jordan Simmons 6-4 325 5th-Sr. C 74 Nico Falah 6-4 280 R-Jr. 62 Khaliel Rodgers 6-3 315 R-Jr. LG 51 Damien Mama 6-4 325 Jr. 77 Chris Brown 6-5 300 R-So. LT 72 Chad Wheeler 6-6 310 5th-Sr. 70 Chuma Edoga 6-4 290 So. WR 9 JuJu Smith-Schuster 6-2 220 Jr. 13 De'Quan Hampton 6-4 225 Sr. QB 14 Sam Darnold 6-4 225 R-Fr. 4 Max Browne 6-5 220 R-Jr. FB 47 Reuben Peters 6-0 225 R-So. 38 Chris Edmondson 5-11 210 Fr. TB 25 Ronald Jones II 6-1 195 So. 22 Justin Davis 6-1 200 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. OLB 42 Uchenna Nwosu 6-3 235 Jr. 34 Olajuwon Tucker 6-3 230 Jr. DT 94 Rasheem Green 6-5 280 So. 89 Christian Rector 6-5 275 R-Fr. NT 96 Stevie Tu'ikolovatu 6-1 320 5th-Sr. 92 Jacob Daniel 6-4 310 So. DE 44 Malik Dorton 6-2 280 R-So. 98 Josh Fatu 6-3 290 Jr. OLB 45 Porter Gustin 6-5 260 So. 90 Connor Murphy 6-7 255 Fr. or 99 Oluwole Betiku Jr. 6-3 250 Fr. ILB 35 Cameron Smith 6-2 245 So. 34 Olajuwon Tucker 6-3 230 Jr. or 56 Jordan Iosefa 6-2 215 Fr. ILB 19 Michael Hutchings 6-1 215 Sr. 18 Quinton Powell 6-2 200 Sr. CB 8 Iman Marshall 6-1 200 So. 27 Ajene Harris 5-11 190 R-So. SS 22 Leon McQuay III 6-1 195 Sr. or 4 Chris Hawkins 5-11 185 R-Jr. FS 7 Marvell Tell III 6-3 190 So. 4 Chris Hawkins 5-11 185 R-Jr. CB 2 Adoree' Jackson 5-11 185 Jr. 23 Jonathan Lockett 5-11 180 Jr. USC DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. P 36 Chris Tilbey 6-5 205 R-So. 46 Reid Budrovich 5-11 185 R-So. PK 39 Matt Boermeester 6-0 180 R-Jr. 49 Michael Brown 6-2 195 Fr. SNP 92 Zach Smith 6-1 220 Sr. 46 Wyatt Schmidt 6-3 210 R-So. HLD 46 Wyatt Schmidt 6-3 210 R-So. 14 Sam Darnold 6-4 225 R-Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KR 2 Adoree' Jackson 5-11 185 Jr. 27 Ajene Harris 5-11 190 R-So. or 1 Jack Jones 5-11 170 Fr. or 80 Deontay Burnett 6-0 170 So. PR 2 Adoree' Jackson 5-11 185 Jr. 80 Deontay Burnett 6-0 170 So. Special Teams