Notre Dame really will need to lean into its strengths to upset USC. The defense and the running game appear to be the Irish’s best hope in making that happen. It also would serve them well to limit the penalties once again, something they’ve done very well to this point in the season. If that script flips, they’re in real trouble.
The Trojans’ offense is the most potent the Irish’s defense will see this year. They’re among the very best in the country in a lot of areas when they have the ball. If that’s not scary enough, no program has a better turnover margin. That could spell trouble for an Irish offense that’s been decent but also shaky at times, which led to the losses against Marshall and Stanford.
Anyone who looks at this chart might be intimidated, but there is no major challenge this year’s Irish has refused to meet. If they surprise everyone else Saturday, we won’t be surprised because we’ve seen it.
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