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5 Biggest Notre Dame Wins Over USC

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 22: Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense line up against the offense of the University of Southern California Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 22, 2011 in South Bend, Indiana. USC defeated Notre Dame 31-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 22: Members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense line up against the offense of the University of Southern California Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 22, 2011 in South Bend, Indiana. USC defeated Notre Dame 31-17. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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5.  1989-Top 10 match-up

Notre Dame 28, USC 24

Notre Dame was coming off of its most recent National Championship in 1989. They began the season ranked 2nd. After a week 1 thrashing of Virginia, they moved into the number 1 spot. They rolled with that ranking for the next few months.

That includes into their late October match-up with USC.

The Trojans traveled to South Bend ranked 9th. They’d only dropped their opening game to a ranked Illinois team by a point.

Notre Dame vs. USC is inherently must see TV. When it’s also a top 10 match-up, there’s nothing better all season long. The game didn’t disappoint in 1989.

As an act of intimidation, Notre Dame’s players lined up, blocking USC from making it off of the field after warm-ups. There was some bumping. A fight broke out between the two teams, involving almost every player.

The intensity carried onto the field.

Perhaps motivated by the slight Notre Dame had given them, USC jumped out to an early 17-7 lead. The Irish fought back though.

Tony Rice led the comeback, and was the one who scored the game winning touchdown. In typical fashion for Rice, he scored it on the ground.

Rocket Ismail also had a fantastic game. He proved to be explosive returning USC’s kickoffs. Ismail was also the recipient of a rocket throw from Rice, which set-up the quarterback’s game winning run.

For spectators and pollsters alike, this win solidified Notre Dame in the 1st spot in the rankings until late November. That’s when Notre Dame stumbled against Miami. Ranked 4th, Notre Dame beat Colorado in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day and finished 2nd in the country, behind Miami.

That win over Colorado kept the Buffs from becoming National Champions, as they were undefeated prior to the game, and fell from 1st to 4th afterwards.

As for USC, the loss neither affected their rankings or PAC-10 chances. They would go on to win the PAC-10 and then the Rose Bowl over Michigan. USC finished 1989 ranked 8th.

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