Notre Dame Football: Three Bold Predictions vs. USC
By Chase Eyrich
Irish rush for 200+ yards
Notre Dame has taken some major hits this season with the run game. Coming into the season, a major question was if Notre Dame would even be able to run the ball. Game one almost put that one to rest — almost.
The Irish rushed for 230 yards vs. Louisville in the season opener. Everything looked positive in the running department until Jafar Armstrong went down with an abdominal injury.
The next three games never really saw anywhere near the same success with Armstrong’s absence. It became the most apparent when Notre Dame practically erased the ground attack from their playbook against Georgia.
14 attempts to run the ball accumulated only 46 yards in Athens.
Things may be changing quickly for Notre Dame’s run game. You have to take into account the opponents, but against Virginia and Bowling Green, the Irish looked like they have taken strides while finding what works best for certain players.
Last Saturday, Tony Jones Jr. posted his second consecutive 100+ yard rushing game while averaging 14.6 YPC. Even Jahmir Smith – who has been struggling with turf toe — is finding solid success averaging 9.7 YPC on just three carries. C’Bo Flemister had his hands on the ball more than anyone and looked like a wrecking ball on his way to his third consecutive game with a touchdown.
What’s even scarier is the probability of Armstrong’s return this weekend.
He may not start, but Brian Kelly has made it known that Armstrong is expected to play in some capacity.
The last thing USC is going to want this weekend is ND’s star running back on the field. The Trojans may have to rely more on the run game this season, but their defense continues to struggle with it.
USC has allowed 175 rushing yards per game this season. Fresno State and Utah both exceeded 200 rushing yards against the Trojans, while Washington was 6 yards away from joining the club.
It’s been apparent that USC has struggled with tackling this season. With the type of running backs that Notre Dame has and the possible return of Armstrong, it shouldn’t be much of an issue to post 200+ yards on the ground this weekend.