Tag: southern cal

Notre Dame-USC: Pregame Social Media Buzz

If a 1 is the 2016 conclusion and 10 is pregame for the ’05 classic – what number of excitement are you ahead of tonight’s kickoff?

Notre Dame and USC are set to battle this evening with a ton on the line.  A win by Notre Dame would mean a couple of things: playing spoiler to their biggest rival in terms of the College Football Playoff and giving themselves a chance at extending their streak of having 10 or more wins in a season to six, if they are to go and win a bowl game.

For USC it’s pretty simple:  win tonight against Notre Dame and win next week in the Pac-12 championship game and in all likelihood they’ll end up in the playoff, thanks to Michigan dominating Ohio State on Saturday.

With all of that in mind, here is the pregame buzz ahead of Notre Dame-USC:

Notre Dame-USC: Staff predictions for Saturday’s showdown

Who you got Saturday night in LA?

The 2022 regular-season finale is already upon in what has been anything but a normal fall in Marcus Freeman’s first season as Notre Dame’s head coach.  It feels like it was maybe only a month ago that the Irish defense was putting in work at Ohio State before succumbing late in the contest.  An all-time woeful loss to Marshall followed before a turnaround that featured three-straight wins, including a domination of a North Carolina team who will play in the ACC championship.

The stumble against Stanford happened in mid-October and right when the train could have really come off the track, the order was seemingly restored under Freeman’s watch.  Notre Dame has won five straight since that loss, including controlling a ranked Syracuse team on the road handily and handing Clemson their worst regular season loss in what feels like a generation.

So how does Notre Dame close the book on the 2022 regular season?  Can they find a way to slow USC’s high-powered offense and spoil a second opponent’s College Football Playoff dreams this November?

Here is how the Fighting Irish Wire staff as well as Trojans Wire editor Matt Zemek see Saturday night’s showdown in the Coliseum going.

Notre Dame-USC: Stats behind two entirely differently constructed teams

Just how differently built are Notre Dame and USC? Here is everything about them in numbers.

If I’ve heard it once this week I’ve heard it at least 10,000 times.  Every writer, podcaster, fan, Twitter user, or whatever they might be who has discussed Notre Dame and USC has mentioned how opposite the two teams are built.  USC lights up the scoreboard while Notre Dame really doesn’t.

The teams are built about as opposite as the locations of the two schools.  Notre Dame has very little help from the transfer portal beyond their kicker and punter while USC has just 18% of their roster remaining from a year ago.  Lincoln Riley changed the culture and changed the way USC has acquired their talent, clearly.

So how do the teams match up strictly from a statistical analysis?  Here is how in numbers the Irish and Trojans are different.

Notre Dame-USC: Should Irish wear green each year for rivalry game?

Should this be an annual color game like USC-UCLA? And if so — which color for ND?

Let’s not get this confused:  as a lifelong Notre Dame fan, I have been programmed to despise nearly everything about USC.  Everything from the sunshine surfer-bro culture to the glitz and glamor of L.A. drives me at least a little bit crazy.  Oh, and the fact that Colin Cowherd can’t stop tooting their horn after ignoring them for the last decade.

However, there are a couple of saving graces with USC.  One is the work that Matt Zemek does at Trojans Wire.  Each year I look forward to collaborating with him and his team in preparation for Notre Dame-USC.  The other is their uniforms which are one of college football’s very best.

Combine those two and you get the gist of our latest piece done in conjunction with Trojans Wire which looks at the history of both programs and the rivalry.  And then asks an interesting question about the uniforms for both teams.

I hope you enjoy it.

Griffin calls out CFP committee’s SEC bias

A former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick, and current ESPN analyst, chimed in via Twitter on the latest College Football Playoff rankings after they were released Tuesday night. Robert Griffin III called out the CFP …

A former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick, and current ESPN analyst, chimed in via Twitter on the latest College Football Playoff rankings after they were released Tuesday night.

Robert Griffin III called out the CFP Committee for ranking a two-loss SEC team in LSU (No. 5) ahead of one-loss Southern Cal (No. 6) and also ranking another two-loss SEC team in Alabama (No. 7) ahead of one-loss Clemson (No. 8).

“The Committee really showing that SEC bias with 9-2 LSU over 10-1 USC and 9-2 Alabama ahead of 10-1 Clemson,” wrote Griffin III, an ESPN analyst who won the Heisman at Baylor in 2011 before being selected second overall by the Washington Redskins in the 2012 NFL Draft and playing quarterback for eight NFL seasons.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

ESPN’s Dinich discusses Clemson, Tigers’ CFP outlook

On ESPN’s Championship Drive: College Football Rewind that aired this past weekend, Heather Dinich – who covers the College Football Playoff for ESPN – discussed fifth-ranked Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) coming off its 30-20 win over then-No. 10 NC State …

On ESPN’s Championship Drive: College Football Rewind that aired this past weekend, Heather Dinich — who covers the College Football Playoff for ESPN — discussed fifth-ranked Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) coming off its 30-20 win over then-No. 10 NC State on Saturday night at Death Valley.

Dinich spoke about Dabo Swinney’s coordinator hires to replace Tony Elliott and Brent Venables, and she mentioned DJ Uiagalelei’s improvement this season in his second year as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.

“There were a lot of questions, but Dabo stuck to his guns with the inside hires for both the offensive and defensive coordinators, who came into this season having never called plays or anything of the sort,” Dinich said. “But DJ Uiagalelei deserves a lot of credit for the strides that he’s made from last season to this season.”

Dinich also touched on the Tigers’ playoff outlook after Week 5 of the season.

“With the win, Clemson now has the tiebreaker (in the ACC Atlantic Division) over both Wake Forest and NC State,” Dinich noted. “They’ve got to be really careful about a tricky road trip coming at Florida State in two weeks (on Oct. 15), and don’t forget, they also travel to South Bend for a game against Notre Dame (on Nov. 5).

“But if Clemson can finish with one loss or undefeated, they’re certainly in the top four. But what if USC does the same thing? Notre Dame is a common opponent, so look for that fourth spot to possibly be a debate.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Clemson makes a move in Herbstreit’s top group of teams

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday, giving his top group of teams following Week 4 of the college football season. Herbstreit has Georgia ranked No. 1, followed by Ohio State at No. 2, Alabama at No. 3 and Michigan at No. 4. Clemson is in …

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday, giving his top group of teams following Week 4 of the college football season.

Herbstreit has Georgia ranked No. 1, followed by Ohio State at No. 2, Alabama at No. 3 and Michigan at No. 4.

Clemson is in Herbstreit’s next two, along with Southern Cal.

The Tigers, of course, are coming off a 51-45, double-overtime win over Wake Forest on Saturday in Winston-Salem. Southern Cal, meanwhile, survived a road test at Oregon State, narrowly beating the Beavers by a score of 17-14.

As for the teams in Herbstreit’s top four, Georgia defeated Kent State in Athens, 39-22, while Ohio State cruised past Wisconsin in Columbus, 52-21. Alabama blew out Vanderbilt in Tuscaloosa, 55-3, and Michigan got past Maryland in Ann Arbor, 34-27.

Up next for Clemson is Saturday’s game vs. NC State at Death Valley (7:30 p.m., ABC).

The Tigers had previously dropped out of Herbstreit’s top teams.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Where is Clemson in this national analyst’s updated top 8 rankings?

A national college football analyst released his updated top eight rankings following Week 3 of the season. Former Florida State quarterback and current CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell has Clemson ranked No. 5. As you can see in his tweet below, …

A national college football analyst released his updated top eight rankings following Week 3 of the season.

Former Florida State quarterback and current CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell has Clemson ranked No. 5.

As you can see in his tweet below, Kanell has two SEC teams in his top three with Georgia being No. 1 and Alabama being No. 3. A pair of Big Ten teams round out the top four in Ohio State at No. 2 and Michigan at No. 4.

Behind Clemson, Kanell has the Big 12’s Oklahoma at No. 6, the Pac-12’s Southern Cal at No. 7 and another Big Ten team, Penn State, at No. 8.

Georgia is coming off a dominant 48-7 win at South Carolina in Week 3, while Alabama trounced UL Monroe in Tuscaloosa, 63-7. Ohio State crushed Toledo in Columbus, 77-21, and Michigan shut out UConn in Ann Arbor, 59-0.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, went on the road and routed Nebraska, 49-14. Southern Cal played host to Fresno State and won convincingly, 45-17. Penn State traveled to Auburn and defeated the SEC’s Tigers, 41-12.

Clemson, of course, beat Louisiana Tech by a score of 48-20 at Death Valley last Saturday. The Tigers, ranked No. 5 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, are set to face Wake Forest (No. 16 Coaches Poll, No. 21 AP Top 25) in Winston-Salem this Saturday, Sept. 24. The game will kick off at noon ET on ABC.

Come out to support Clemson baseball at Dear Old Clemson’s event on September 30 at the Madren Conference Center.  New head coach Erik Bakich will speak and most of next year’s team will be on hand.  Get your tickets today or sign up for the Orange level or higher of the Tiger Club to get free access to all Dear Old Clemson events. Dear Old Clemson.

Clemson falls again in Herbstreit’s top group of teams

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday, giving his top four following Week 3 of the college football season. Clemson was in Herbstreit’s next two, along with Southern Cal, after Week 2. However, following their 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech on …

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday, giving his top four following Week 3 of the college football season.

Clemson was in Herbstreit’s next two, along with Southern Cal, after Week 2.

However, following their 48-20 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday night at Death Valley, the Tigers (3-0, 1-0 ACC) are no longer among the six teams Herbstreit has in his current top four and next two.

Herbstreit has Georgia at No. 1, Alabama at No. 2, Ohio State at No. 3 and Michigan at No. 4, with Oklahoma and Southern Cal as his next two.

Georgia is coming off a dominant 48-7 win at South Carolina, while Alabama trounced UL Monroe in Tuscaloosa, 63-7. Ohio State crushed Toledo in Columbus, 77-21, and Michigan shut out UConn in Ann Arbor, 59-0.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, went on the road and routed Nebraska, 49-14. Southern Cal played host to Fresno State and won convincingly, 45-17.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Kirk Herbstreit gives his early top four

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday morning, giving his early top four following Week 2 of the college football season. The ESPN college football analyst has Georgia at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan, in that order. …

Kirk Herbstreit took to Twitter on Sunday morning, giving his early top four following Week 2 of the college football season.

The ESPN college football analyst has Georgia at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan, in that order.

Clemson is in Herbstreit’s next two, along with Southern Cal.

The Tigers, of course, are coming off a 35-12 win over Furman on Saturday at Death Valley. Southern Cal, meanwhile, went on the road and defeated Stanford by a score of 41-28.

Georgia shut out Samford in Athens, 33-0, while Ohio State played host to Arkansas State and won, 45-12. Alabama survived an upset bid at Texas, narrowly winning 20-19 on a field goal with 10 seconds left.

As for Michigan, the Wolverines cruised past Hawai’i, 56-10, in Ann Arbor.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!