Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: USC ON PAPER BY DAN MURPHY depth in a decade, received a big boost this summer from Penn State transfer Silas Redd. He led the team with nine touchdowns and 732 yards through 10 games. The 5-10, 200-pound junior takes the major- ity of USC's carries, but has had help from fifth-year senior Curtis McNeal and sophomore D.J. Morgan. Notre Dame is allowing an average of 95.9 rushing The Trojans, suffering their biggest lack of backfield USC RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE yards per game, the sixth-lowest total in the nation. The balanced front seven punishes teams that try to focus on senior Manti Te'o (92 tackles) and sopho- more Stephon Tuitt (11 sacks) by taking advantage of the space created for other players. USC typically throws the ball more than it runs. Given all of the weapons on the perimeter of that offense, it would be hard to imagine them wanting to grind away at the staunch Irish defense on the ground. Advantage: Notre Dame USC PASSING GAME VS. Junior running back Silas Redd, a transfer from Penn State, led the Trojans' ground attack with this season. Junior Bennett Jackson was tied for second on the team with 52 stops after 10 games, while freshman KeiVarae Russell wasn't far behind at fifth with 46 tackles. They will be put to the test against an uber-athletic group of wide receivers in Los Angeles. Sophomore Marqise Lee caught 98 passes for a Notre Dame has a pair of sure-tackling cornerbacks NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE 732 yards and nine touchdowns through 10 games. PHOTO COURTESY USC catches for 653 yards and 10 scores) is a returning All-American, and freshman Nelson Agholor (16 catches for 291 yards and one TD) has lived up to his blue-chip billing so far this season. Senior quarterback Matt Barkley paired with that nation-leading 1,447 yards and 13 touchdowns in USC's first 10 games. He also leads the country with seven catches of 50 or more yards. Notre Dame is one of seven teams in the country that has yet to give up a single pass completion that long. Lee isn't alone either. Junior Robert Woods (61 trio is why many people pegged the Trojans as the No. 1 team in the country in August. Barkley is the school and conference leader with 113 career touch- down passes. Notre Dame's secondary was ranked 10th in pass efficiency defense (104.7 rating) after beating Boston College, but is facing its toughest test in the season finale. Advantage: USC