Irish Running Game Ends Southern Cal Upset Bid

The 13th-ranked University of Notre Dame football team (5-2), powered by its offensive line and dynamic running back duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, defeated No. 20 Southern Cal (5-2) 34-24 in a rain-soaked but jubilant sold-out Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night. 

Love rushed for a career-best 228 yards and a touchdown, posting the 18th 200-yard rushing effort in program history. Price added 87 yards, a rushing touchdown and a scintillating 100-yard kick return to seize momentum late in the third quarter. 

The offense was not the lone team highlight. The defense forced three turnovers in the second half, perhaps none bigger than captain Adon Shuler’s forced fumble in the fourth quarter, recovered by Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Shuler led the team with 10 tackles.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Southern Cal drove the length of the field quickly on their first possession after receiving the opening kickoff. Two first down passes moved the Trojans across the 50 followed by a 24-yard reception into the red zone. The touchdown came on a toe-tapping reception by tight end Lake McRee in the back corner of the end zone. 

The Irish answered just as quickly. Love burst through a huge hole on the left side of the line between left guard Billy Schrauth and first-time starting center Joe Otting and galloped for 63 yards to the SC 12-yard line. Love danced through an arm tackle one play later, this time behind blocks from Eli Raridon, Anthonie Knapp and Aamil Wagner for a 12-yard touchdown. Notre Dame’s drive took just 58 seconds off the clock. 

The Trojans moved quickly into scoring position again when SC quarterback Jordan Maiava desperation pass under pressure was caught 21 yards down field. The Irish defense held there, however, and Southern Cal converted a 41-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead. 

Notre Dame earned one first down on its next drive before James Rendell came on to punt and bury the Trojans on the seven-yard line. The Irish defense forced a three-and-out but a 59-yard punt flipped the field again. 

Rendell was soon called on to punt again after a Trojan sack set Notre Dame behind the sticks. The 47-yard kick was fielded at the SC 11. 

Jaylen Sneed highlighted the defensive effort on the next drive for Notre Dame. Staying home on first down from his defensive end positioning he pressured the quarterback and forced an incompletion. He followed up with a run-stuff on second down to put SC in third and long. Donovan Hinish cleaned up a draw to force another Southern Cal punt. 

Price broke open through a gaping hole in the Trojan defense behind Raridon, Guerby Lambert and Wagner for 32 yards and followed up immediately with eight more. After the quarter break Price finished off his drive with a 16-yard touchdown scamper around left end. 

The next Irish defensive effort looked like they would force the Trojans into a third and very long when Junior Tuihalamaka pressured Maiava and forced a fumble. A dubious defensive hold call on Notre Dame when the receiver fell down negated the play. 

Southern Cal drove deep into Notre Dame territory but the Irish defense stepped up to force a 4th-and-three at the 19-yard line. Drayk Bowen followed the tight end out of the backfield and broke up a pass with a big hit to end the scoring threat. 

Carr and Faison got the drive started with a 15-yard connection. Love then put the Irish in scoring position with another long run behind key blocks from Schrauth, Knapp and Otting. The Irish drove as far as the three-yard line but came away without points when Carr scrambled back and forth twice on third-and-goal and threw an interception. 

The Trojans took advantage of the turnover and another questionable call, this one a pass interference call at the goal line on a deep pass where both the Notre Dame defender and the offensive player were hand fighting with each other. 

The Notre Dame defense stepped up yet again. Bowen buried the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage then SC subbed in a running quarterback in an attempt to run a quarterback sweep to the right. Tae Johnson completely erased the play by racing out of his safety position and dropping the quarterback for no gain. 

Southern Cal had to settle for a field goal when a third down toss at the goal line was dropped. 

Both teams attempted to score again in the final two minutes of the half but neither squad was able to threaten and the Irish entered the locker room with a one-point lead. 

Notre Dame received the kickoff to start the second half and got started with a quick pass to Faison to the wide side of the field. He broke a tackle and gained 12. Love then ran around the left side of the line for 16 yards as Raridon sealed off the Trojan defensive front. The Irish running back followed up with six more, a quick reception for nine yards then converted on third-and-seven at the 18-yard line. That conversion was keyed from dominating blocks from Raridon, Schrauth, Otting and Lambert. 

The Irish cashed in on their scoring opportunity on third down when Will Pauling easily beat his defender to the inside of the slot and Carr hit him between the numbers for a six-yard touchdown. 

The officiating crew aided Southern Cal’s next scoring drive with pass interference calls, one of which was warranted while the other was another questionable yellow rag. Notre Dame’s defense rose up yet again in the red zone. Jason Onye’s run-stuff led to a third-and-three. Dallas Golden blanketed his assignment and Southern Cal had to settle for a 43-yard field goal. The Irish lead was cut to 21-16. 

Notre Dame’s offense could not move the ball on its next drive and Rendell came on to punt again, pushing Southern Cal back to their 29-yard line. 

The Trojans did not stay in their territory long. Yet another pass interference call provided the visitors a first down and Maiava followed up by connecting with Ja’Kobi Lane for a 59-yard scoring strike. 

The Southern Cal 24-21 lead lasted all of 15 seconds. Price fielded the kickoff just inside his end zone, broke a tackle, cut to the right sideline, broke another tackle and out-legged the entire USC coverage team for a thrilling 100-yard kick return. Notre Dame missed the point after for a 27-24 lead. 

The momentum continued on the defensive side for Notre Dame when Christian Gray stepped in front of a receiver across the middle and intercepted the pass, returning it to the SC 44 yard-line. 

Notre Dame drove into scoring position and unfortunately stalled there and missed a field goal. 

The Trojans looked to come back to take the lead but the Irish defense made perhaps the biggest play of the game. Southern Cal hit a 42-yard pass into Irish territory but on the next play, went to a reverse pass with wide receiver Makai Lemon looking to pass. Adon Shuler saw the play the whole way, broke into the backfield, pushed Lemon back 13 yards then stripped the ball away. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was right there to jump on the fumble and the Irish were in business in SC territory. 

Malachi Fields made his lone catch of the game on the drive, but the nine-yard grab on 2nd-and-10 provided the necessary flexibility to get the ball back in Love’s hands. He powered for the first down on third and two, then broke runs for 15 and 16 down to the five-yard line.

From there, Carr kept the ball twice, including scoring behind a key block from Love, to put the Irish up 10 with just over seven minutes remaining.   

The drama wasn’t over at that point but the scoring was. Sneed continued his great game with a fourth-and-one stop at the Southern Cal 44. The Irish could not score on the drive and the Trojans kept coming, driving into Notre Dame territory late in the game. 

Luke Talich ended the game, however, with an interception of a wounded duck pass toward the end zone and the Irish went into victory formation.