Notre Dame football vs. USC: 3 Studs and 3 Duds in Week 8

2 of 4

Oct 23, 2021; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Bo Bauer (52) celebrates after Notre Dame defeated the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

Notre Dame football vs. USC: 3 Studs and 3 Duds in Week 8

3rd Stud: Bo Bauer

It’s easy to gravitate towards Bo Bauer the football player. His long hair flows out from his helmet and he plays linebacker angry. Every week, even if he’s not an every down player, you’re happy that he’s on Notre Dame and not someone else.

Against USC, Bauer was always around the ball, as long as he was in this game. In the end, Bauer would have seven total tackles, four of which were unassisted. More importantly, Bauer intercepted Kedon Slovis and returned it almost all the way for a touchdown. Only Slovis was able to run him down. At minimum, it was a massive six point swing.

Just don’t get run down by the quarterback next time.

3rd Dud: Kevin Austin

At this point, we know Kevin Austin is capable of being the first option at wide receiver for Notre Dame. He just doesn’t bring it every week, and the trend of dropping the ball is becoming an issue.

Austin dropped a ball on the opening drive, where it looked like he was thinking about the run first. That was on third down, and forced Notre Dame to try a field goal. They missed it, and in that way, Austin took points off the board for Notre Dame. Later, USC’s Chris Steele would take the ball out of his hands for an interception. That just can’t happen.

Home/Notre Dame Football