Little has changed with this rivalry, and that’s a good thing.
Rivalries are when you really find out about your team. This surely was on the minds of both Notre Dame and USC ahead of Saturday’s game at Notre Dame Stadium. In the end, we saw both teams for what they were. It was Notre Dame walking out with a 31-16 victory.
The Trojans (3-4) finished what they started late in the third quarter when Keontay Ingram scored his team’s first touchdown on the second play of the quarter. There was little reason for concern at that point as the Irish (6-1) still had a two-score lead. When they marched into Trojans territory, a response to that touchdown appeared to be in order. Instead, Chris Steele took away a pass that would have set the Irish up in the red zone.
The Trojans immediately took advantage of the turnover when Kedon Slovis completed a 44-yard pass to Drake London on the first play of the possession. There was little trouble reaching the end zone after that, which happened on a 3-yard run from Darwin Barlow. However, Parker Lewis missed the extra-point kick. That could have made things interesting but for what followed.
Rather than stay disciplined, the Trojans’ defense committed a pair of 15-yard penalties. It was a particularly bad time to take them because Kyren Williams continued to add to what already had been a great night for him. Ironically, it was Tyler Buchner who finished the drive off with a 3-yard touchdown run. So much for a late surprise from the visitors.
All that was left for the defense was for Isaiah Foskey to force a fumble on a sack of Slovis on fourth down and for TaRiq Bracy to recover it. The Irish were deep in Trojans’ territory after that, but they didn’t need to score again. Just take the win and look forward to North Carolina.
