Notre Dame Football: What to watch when USC has the ball

The Notre Dame football team improved to 4-1 last week with a win over Bowling Green. Up next is a primetime matchup against rival USC.

If you are reading this article, chances are I do not need to explain to you the level of intensity associated with this rivalry.

All of those clichés you hear about rivalry games apply to this game. Even though Notre Dame is currently favored by 10.5 points, I think most Irish fans (if they are being honest) expect a close game.

Something that is a bit concerning for Notre Dame is the talent on the USC offense. Here are some of the key matchups for the Irish defense this Saturday night.

USC Running Backs vs. the Notre Dame Front Seven

Graham Harrell’s air raid offense is obviously pass-heavy, but, like every other offense, they still run the ball occasionally.

The Trojans will line up in four or five wide to spread defenses out. Because of that, defenses are not able to put extra players in the box to stop the run.

Junior Vavae Malepeai is the team’s leading rusher through five games with 360 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Junior Stephen Carr and Freshman Markese Stepp are good for a few touches a game, but Malepeai shoulders most of the workload.

Notre Dame will have their hands full trying to slow down the USC passing attack. They cannot afford to give up yards in the run game.

Kedon Slovis vs. the Notre Dame Defensive Line

Freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis has shown some promise in the games he has played in following JT Daniels’ season-ending knee injury.

In his first ever start, he threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford. He came back down to Earth the following week, when he threw three interceptions in a loss to BYU.

Those ups and downs are expected from freshmen. One thing that has been consistent, though, is his accuracy. Slovis has completed 77.9 percent of his passes so far.

Slovis suffered a concussion just two plays into the Trojan’s week four game against Utah. That injury forced him to miss the game against Washington the following week as well. The latest reports are that Slovis has cleared the concussion protocol and is expected to start on Saturday.

The Notre Dame defense needs to make Slovis uncomfortable on Saturday night. With his accuracy and the receivers he has, he could pick the Irish apart.

Because they do not want to leave themselves vulnerable on the back end, Notre Dame needs their defensive line to consistently create pressure. This is exactly the type of game where the Irish need their star defensive ends, Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem, to show up.

USC Wide Receivers vs. the Notre Dame Secondary

In his press conference on Monday, head coach Brian Kelly said that the USC receivers are the best group Notre Dame will face all year. It is hard to disagree with that assessment. The group is a matchup nightmare for college football secondaries.

The overall talent of that receiving corps has helped the Trojans win games this year with three different quarterbacks.

USC’s top three receivers: Michael Pittman Jr., Tyler Vaughns, and Amon-Ra St. Brown will probably all plays on Sundays in the future.

Through five games, Pittman leads the team in all the major receiving categories. He has 35 receptions for 501 yards and four touchdowns. Vaughns and St. Brown are not far behind, though.

The Trojan receivers have created some big plays in the passing game. Five different receivers have a reception of 39 yards or longer. The Irish defense can not give up plays like that on Saturday. They need to force USC to sustain longer drives in order to score points.

For the Notre Dame secondary, this was already a tough matchup before the loss of starting cornerback Shaun Crawford. Now the task at hand becomes that much more difficult.