Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: USC Dame, Woods caught two touchdown passes among his dozen receptions en route to consensus All-America hon- ors. His 111 recep- tions (15 for touch- downs) in 2011 broke the single- season USC and Pac-12 record set by No. 1 NFL pick Keyshawn Johnson in 1995. This year, Woods In last year's 31-17 victory at Notre pulled down 10 scor ing passes through the first 10 games but has become merely the complementary option on his own team. It's almost like first-round pick Michael Floyd com- bining forces with 2009 Irish Bilet- nikoff Award win- ner Golden Tate. Also a track star, receiving standard at USC. Entering the Nov. 17 clash with cross-town rival UCLA, Lee had snared 98 passes for 1,447 yards (14.8 yards per catch) and Junior wideout Robert Woods broke the single-season USC and Pac-12 records with 111 receptions last year, and had 61 grabs for 653 yards and 10 touchdowns through 10 contests this fall. PHOTO COURTESY USC Lee has emerged as the nation's most dynamic wideout and a top-five Heis- man candidate after breaking in as a freshman last season with 73 catches and finishing 15th nationally in receiv- ing yardage. He caught only two 18- yard tosses at Notre Dame last year, but might reach that in the first quarter this season against the vaunted Fight- ing Irish defense. The overwhelming favorite to win this year's Biletnikoff Award, Lee is well on pace to set every single-season 13 touchdowns. In the 39-36 loss at Ari- zona Oct. 26, he grabbed 16 passes for 345 yards and a couple of scores. During the preseason, this was con- sidered the ultimate mismatch in the Notre Dame-USC contest: The Trojans' playmaking tandem at wideout versus Notre Dame's nascent starting corners in former wideout Bennett Jackson and true freshman KeiVarae Russell, who supposedly was enrolling as a running back. Jackson and Russell have performed