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✦ ON PAPER BY DAN MURPHY in a decade, received a big boost this summer from Penn State transfer Silas Redd. He leads the team with nine touchdowns and 740 yards rushing. Notre Dame is allowing an average of 92.2 rushing yards USC RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The Trojans, suffering their biggest lack of backfield depth sophomore linebacker, leads the team with four intercep‑ tions from his spot in the flat. Advantage: USC per game, the fifth‑lowest total in the nation. The balanced front seven punishes teams that try to focus on senior line‑ backer Manti Te'o (98 tackles) and sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt (12 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. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Notre Dame has a pair of sure‑tackling cornerbacks this season. Junior Bennett Jackson (55 tackles) and freshman KeiVarae Russell (47) will be put to the test against an uber‑ athletic group of wide receivers in Los Angeles. Sophomore Marqise Lee has caught 107 passes for a nation‑leading 1,605 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. 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 (66 catches Junior running back Silas Redd, a transfer from Penn State, leads the Trojans' ground attack with 740 yards and nine touchdowns. rank 115th in punt runbacks (2.4 yards per return) and 85th in kickoff returns (19.7‑yard average). Lee, who re‑ turned one kick for a 100‑yard touchdown this season, and Agholor are threats to score on each kickoff that doesn't reach the back of the end zone. Advantage: USC PHOTO COURTESY USC 734 yards and four touchdowns, but Wood had his second 60‑plus yard touchdown run against Wake Forest and might be the Irish's most explosive back. USC's defense is built with speedy linebackers that lack for 721 yards and 10 scores) is a returning All‑American, and freshman Nelson Agholor (19 catches for 340 yards and two touchdowns) has lived up to his blue‑chip billing so far this season. The Trojans will be without injured senior quarterback Matt Barkley. Redshirt freshman Max Wittek, who has completed 8 of 9 career pass attempts for 95 yards with a touchdown, will start in his place. Wittek has the pedigree and the weapons to make a strong debut. Advantage: USC Kelly's first trip to the L.A. Coliseum two seasons ago. They will likely try to pound their way to another win this year. Sophomore quarterback Everett Golson's emergence as NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. USC RUN DEFENSE The Irish ran for 147 yards in a winning effort on Brian a mobile threat gives running backs Theo Riddick, Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III a little more room with which to work when they get the ball. Riddick has morphed into the team's No. 1 option, carrying the ball 160 times for size. They have held their own in the Pac‑12, giving up 150.5 rushing yards per game, but stopping the run has haunted them in their four losses. Stanford, Arizona and Oregon all ran for more than 200 yards against the Trojans, while UCLA's ground attack produced 172 yards. Advantage: Notre Dame much better chemistry in November. Eifert set the program record with 130 career receptions after making six catches last week. Eighteen of the 32 grabs that Golson has thrown to him came in games in November. That's important be‑ cause the Irish will be without sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels (broken collarbone), who appeared to be finding his rhythm in the second half of the season as well. Daniels had 25 catches for 375 yards before landing hard NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. USC PASS DEFENSE Golson and senior tight end Tyler Eifert have developed creating distractions as Brian Kelly has been in deflecting them this season. Kiffin's antics — which include changing jersey numbers, dodging injury questions and more — have landed him in hot water when combined with an under‑ achieving team of raw talent that was projected by many to finish No. 1 this season. Kelly has done the opposite. He managed to keep his COACHING USC head coach Lane Kiffin has been as successful at team focused on the "one week at a time" mantra despite trying to fill several holes in the Notre Dame lineup. Kif‑ fin and his staff outcoached the Irish in South Bend last season, but Kelly has shown more growth in his third year. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame. USC is already eliminated from the Pac‑12 title hunt. Kelly and his team have already won once in Los Angeles, where distractions have overrun Southern Cal's season and robbed it of its promise. In two road games against top‑10 opponents (Michigan INTANGIBLES A trip to the national championship is on the line for goal attempts, but his range appears to top out around 40 yards. Irish sophomore Kyle Brindza has a bigger leg but he missed seven times in 25 attempts during this year. The return game is a lost cause for the Irish this year. They SPECIAL TEAMS USC kicker Andre Heidari made eight of his first 11 field State and Oklahoma), the Irish have won by double digits. They should enter the Coliseum confident in their ability to do the same against USC. Advantage: Notre Dame on his shoulder in the end zone against Boston College. His absence should provide a chance for fifth‑year senior John Goodman to end his career on a high note. The Trojans' 18 interceptions as a team are the fourth most picks in the nation. Dion Bailey, a 210‑pound redshirt ✦ PAGE 5 PREDICTIONS Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 23, USC 17 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 20, USC 17 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 27, USC 24 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 24, USC 13