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Notre Dame Football: Key Offensive Matchups against USC

By Connor McJunkin

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly looks on during the game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly looks on during the game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football heads to Pasadena to take on USC in the season finale with a College Football Playoff berth on the line. Here are the key offensive matchups to watch.

It’s hard to argue that this weekend’s game won’t be the biggest regular season game for the Irish since the USC game in 2012. There is no doubt that a win will all but lock Notre Dame into the final four and make them postseason bound for the first time since the College Football Playoff began in 2014.

The Trojans enter the game in a very different position. Coming off a tough loss to a 2-8 UCLA team, the Trojans are on the verge of suffering their worst season in almost two decades.

A lot of USC’s struggles this season can be attributed to their true-freshman quarterback. JT Daniels has struggled for most of the season, mustering just 13 touchdowns while throwing 10 interceptions and completing just 57% of his passes.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Trojans have had a mediocre season. They haven’t been dominating, but they haven’t been absolutely awful or statistically terrible either. Here are the national defensive rankings for the Trojan defense heading into the game Saturday night (out of 130 FBS 1-A teams):

  • Total Defense: 59th (4,179 yards)
  • Yards/Game: 57th (380 yards)
  • Pass Yards/Game: 53rd (211 yards)
  • Rush Yards/Game: 69th (168 yards)
  • Points/Game: 69th (27 points)
  • Total Sacks: 48th (26)
  • Interceptions: 127th (3)
  • Turnovers Forced: 123rd (9)
  • Defensive Efficiency: 45th (61.1%)

Outside of their inability to create turnovers, the rest of their rankings are pretty consistent and average. They roughly rank in the top half of the country in most categories. Of course, this doesn’t always paint the entire picture. Over the last five weeks, USC is 1-4 and allowing an average of 30 points per game. Last weekend against UCLA, this defense allowed 313 rushing yards, including 289 yards to Bruins running back Joshua Kelley.

This won’t be the worst defense Notre Dame has played all season, but it won’t be the best either by far. To leave Pasadena with a victory and a ticket punched to the College Football Playoff, the Irish will need to take care of business when they have the ball.

Here are the matchups to watch for when Notre Dame’s offense is on the field:

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