Notre Dame Football: USC Game Day Primer

Everything you need to know before No.9 Notre Dame takes on USC.

Following a man-handling of Bowling Green at home to the tune of 52-0, Notre Dame moves on to face a much tougher task in the Trojans of USC.

USC comes into South Bend a meek 3-2, its most recent loss coming to Washington. The USC program is still very much in turmoil. Former AD Lynn Swann resigned earlier this year and this may be head coach Clay Helton’s last game at USC. If he takes his team into South Bend and gets embarrassed, expect USC to have a new head coach sooner rather than later.

Regardless, this rivalry always provides top-notch college football action and both schools annually produce some of the best NFL talent — so this is sure to be a good game.

Kickoff: 7:30 pm EST

Channel: NBC

Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN

Line: Notre Dame -11

Weather: At kickoff it will be a chilly 45 degrees with 58 percent humidity. The forecast shows no chance of rain, and winds coming out of the SSW at 10-12 mph.

Series history: Notre Dame leads 46-36-5 (.561)

Top storylines: In what is the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football, there is never a shortage of storylines heading into the matchup. These teams hate each other with a passion and if you have the chance to be in South Bend for the game, you will see the pure hatred firsthand.

The first major storyline of the matchup will be how Clark Lea’s defense stops USC’s uber-talented trio of wide receivers. Michael Pittman Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns are probably the best WR trio in the nation and one of Notre Dame’s biggest weaknesses is at cornerback. All three of these WRs will be playing on Sundays, and they have ridiculous ability once they get the ball in their hands.

Notre Dame is missing its best slot cover corner in Shaun Crawford, who suffered a dislocated elbow against Virginia, Sept. 28. It is now down to corners Troy Pride Jr., Tariq Bracy, Donte Vaughn and KJ Wallace to stop and try to contain these USC playmakers.

Another major storyline of the week is who is going to be getting these star WRs the ball for USC. Clay Helton came out earlier this week and said freshman QB Kevon Slovis would be available to start this weekend, but other QBs may get looks against ND. Slovis has been out since Sept. 20 against Utah when he took a huge hit and suffered a concussion. Slovis has been practicing and should start the game. Junior QB Matt Fink had been starting in Slovis’ place and has been woeful. He surely never thought he would see the field this season but USC has been through the ringer in terms of injuries to its QBs. The starter heading into the season, JT Daniels, suffered a terrible knee injury in USC’s first game of the season against Fresno State and is out for the season.

Injury report: 

• Notre Dame junior RB Jafar Armstrong returns this week from an abdominal tear suffered Week 1 against Louisville.
• Notre Dame senior CB Shaun Crawford is still out with a dislocated elbow, he is expected back after Michigan week.
• Notre Dame senior WR Chase Claypool is dealing with a nagging ankle injury, he is questionable but should be fine to play.

Key Offensive Player for USC: Kedon Slovis, QB

The entire key to USC being able to move the ball offensively runs through the play of the QB. USC boasts the best WR trio in the nation, but if the USC QB(s) can’t get them the ball, they can’t do much. USC QB play has been up and down this season, but having Slovis back for this offense is huge. Matt Fink really struggled at the helm of this USC offense and just did not look comfortable.

Only a freshman, Slovis is overall a better QB than Fink and will cause many more problems for Notre Dame. On the season, Slovis is 60 of 77 for 732 yards with 5 TDs and 4 INTs. Those stats do not exactly jump off the page, but for a freshman, he has been impressive. He was expecting to come into this season backing up star QB JT Daniels and learning from him, but now Slovis is at the helm, learning as he goes.

Key Offensive Player for ND: Ian Book, QB

Arguably Ian Book’s best game of the season came against one of the best defenses in the nation, in Georgia.  When I say best, obviously it was not his best statistically, but Book’s decision making and decisiveness against Georgia was what kept Notre Dame in the game. He is taking on another tough defense in USC and he will need to have just as good of a game if he wants to lead his team to victory.

In the last regular season game of 2018, Book got his first crack at USC. Book struggled in the first half as USC played very close to the line of scrimmage and made Book resort to dump-off passes and small screens. It was a rough first half, but Chip Long figured out the USC defense and Notre Dame broke away in the second half. Will that be the same story this weekend?

It should surprise no one if USC presses the line of scrimmage again and forces Book to beat them, because he is still unproven in throwing the ball down the field. Book is much more comfortable with short to intermediate throws, so expect USC to try to take them away as Georgia did.

Book should not struggle too much in this game, but his play is vital to Notre Dame winning the game and winning it handily.

Key Defensive Player for USC: Talanoa Hufanga, S

After missing USC’s last game against Washington with a concussion, Hufanga is expected to be back in the USC secondary Saturday night against Notre Dame. He was missed dearly as the USC secondary was torched by Washington in a 28-14 clash.

The hard-hitting safety will be welcomed back with open arms, as he will be needed greatly to slow down the Irish offense. He will be tasked with preventing Ian Book beating his defense over the top, as well as stopping the Irish running backs on the ground. Hufanga is a star in the making and there will be no bigger stage for him to show he is one of the better safeties in the nation than against Notre Dame in primetime.

On the season, Hufanga has tallied 42 tackles (26 solo), and 0.5 sacks.

Key Defensive Player for ND: TaRiq Bracy, CB

Sophomore corner TaRiq Bracy is going to be counted on heavily against USC. Troy Pride Jr. will hold his own on the other side of the field against whichever USC WR, but Bracy’s play will be key to ND success. Bracy has proven to be a good cover corner in his two years at ND thus far, but he will need to be a better tackler than he has shown in past games. The USC receivers can go up and get the ball, but they much prefer to get the ball in space and make their man miss. Notre Dame cannot afford Bracy to miss too many tackles and let these dangerous receivers get into space and make plays.

Next season, Bracy may be Notre Dame’s No.1 corner and this is a great chance for him to prove himself and show he can be as good as Troy Pride Jr. Bracy has had a solid season thus far, already exceeding his tackle total from last season (18) with 19 total tackles (14 solo), a forced fumble and recovery, and five passes defended.

Bracy has the speed to run with the USC receivers, but can he tackle and stay with them in space? His play Saturday night will be telling of how the game goes for Notre Dame.