Much has been made about Notre Dame’s struggling offense over the past few weeks. There probably is something to the theory that the weak competition during the first third of the schedule fattened that offense’s number up. Even with the recent step back though, you’ll see that the unit statistically remains one of the better ones in the country. Those first four games, including the Week 0 contest, really gave them a head start in this way.
USC hasn’t had the best defensive season, but it hardly matters since Caleb Williams is there to bail out any shortcomings. There has to be a point where that will catch up to the Trojans, but there’s little reason to believe that will happen anytime soon. As long as Williams is out there, he will do an excellent job of masking any defensive deficiencies.
Here’s a look at how the Irish’s offense matches up with the Trojans’ defense: