USC and Notre Dame Square Off in South Bend

It's Notre Dame week, people!

It ain't the matchup we hoped for . . . an undefeated Trojan team facing off against a winless Irish team, but that's the way it goes. But at least this ND team has been so bad this year that Charlie Weis is actually LOSING weight.

Anyway, SC is slowly trying to regain strength after some debillitating injuries, while the Irish are making a QB switch. The only real guarantee is that the Notre Dame stadium grass will be high.

Here's the breakdown:

Notre Dame

Offense - Could they be any worse? Ranked 111th in total offense (dead last in the nation in rushing) the Irish have been hilarious to watch . . . sometimes having trouble even snapping the ball to the QB. The OLine is horrific, giving up 23 sacks in the last 4 games. The Irish have asked QB Evan Sharpley to stem the tide, as he has actually improved since taking seven sacks himself in ND's first game of the year in about two quarters of work. We will probably see Jimmy Clausen play, however. The running backs are pedestrian to subpar, and with no weapons or experience at WR, the TE John Carlson qualifies as ND's best offensive weapon (22 rec. with 1 TD)

Defense - the ND defense ain't much better than the offense. The best player on the DLine is Trevor Laws, but as a unit they can't stop the run, nor do they get pressure on the QB. One of the more overrated players of our generation, safety Tom Zbikowski, leads a defensive unit that ranks 93rd in total defense.

Special Teams - the FG kicker, Walker, doesn't make anything over 30 yards, and the return game is average. Freshmen Armando Allen and Golden Tate return kicks, and Zbikowski handles the punt returns.

USC

Offense - it looks as if QB Mark Sanchez will get his second start behind an OLine that is trying to incorporate reserve LT Butch Lewis and RG Tiny Malu. This unit should still be able to run the ball with CWashington and JMcKnight against a very weak ND run defense. The WRs just have to come through in this game - Patrick Turner where are you?! TE Fred Davis is a "go to" player vs. the slow ND linebackers.

Defense - ND is tailor-made for the Trojan defense. The team ranks 5th vs. the run, and the DLine should have no problems putting pressure on the ND Oline and QB. ND will probably go to the short passing game (like everybody else) because SC should shut down the poor Irish running game. Even with Mad Dog Mualuga out or playing very sparingly, MLBs TWilliams and LBrown should be able to handle things. One key is for returning LB BCushing to lock down the Irish TE on passing routes.

Special Teams - the return game finally got a jolt from JMcKnight. But he'll have to be smarter on punts than he was vs. Arizona in a hostile environment like ND stadium. Look for kick returner RoJo to get loose this game. DBuehler has been solid this year, but the high grass will be a different surface for him to get used to.

Prediction Time:

USC - 31

ND - 6