USC football watched its two-game winning streak end in its final game of the regular season with a 49-35 loss against Notre Dame on Saturday while failing to cover as a 7.5-point home underdog. The year concluded on a fitting but frustrating sour note. Notre Dame set school records against USC. When a team is allowing its opponents to set records, that says a lot about the season USC had.
The Trojans went pound-for-pound against the No. 5 ranked Fighting Irish, being tied 21-21 up until midway through the third quarter. The offense then stalled and went down by two touchdowns by the end of the third, but started to mount a comeback with a 6-yard Ja’Kobi Lane touchdown to close the gap to 35-28.
It was at that point that quarterback Jayden Maiava fell apart dramatically, throwing back-to-back goal line pick sixes that happened to be two of the longest interception returns for touchdowns in Notre Dame history. A 99-yard pick six from cornerback Christian Gray, the fourth-longest in school history, was followed by a 100-yard pick six from safety Xavier Watts on the next possession, tied for the longest touchdown interception return in the Fighting Irish’s history.
The failure of the Trojans to execute late seemed to be a fitting end to their mishap of a season. They failed to take care of business and left many questions that will need to be answered by Lincoln Riley and company over the offseason.
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