Trojans Journey to South Bend

This is a game Dr. Phil would love. Notre Dame is 4 -1 by the skin of their teeth this season, and is looking to find out if they are for real or a fake by how they perform against SC. The 4 -1 Trojans are looking to keep the momentum going after improving noticeably as an offensive team the last few games.

So by the end of the game, which team will feel validated or crawl into the fetal position? Let’s breakdown the psyche of each team:

Notre Dame

Offense – QB Jimmy Clausen is finally having a season that matches the hype. With 12 TDs and only (2) INTs thus far, Clausen has been very efficient completing passes at a 67% clip. Helping Clausen is the appearance of a running game in the person of RB Armando Allen who’s run for 365 yards at 5.1 yards a pop. WR Golden Tate has been Clausen’s primary target with (33) receptions, and the playmaker the Irish rely upon. And 6’6 TE Kyle Rudolf has also proven to be a reliable target in the Red Zone and on 3rd downs.

Defense – It hasn’t been pretty for the Irish defense who rank 100th in Total Defense in college football. The defensive backfield led by Safety Kyle McCarthy has given up big yards, and the opponents have also been able to run the ball against the Notre Dame front (7). DE Kapron Lewis-Moore and his DLine mates have not been able to get much penetration this season, putting pressure on linebackers Brian Smith and Manti Te’o to try and make tackles at the second level.

Special Teams – The Irish do have an excellent FG kicker in Nick Tausch who has made 10 – 11 tries. The punt and kickoff return teams, though, have not been very helpful in generating good field position for the Notre Dame offense.

USC

Offense - At this point in the season QB Matt Barkley is no longer playing like a true frosh. His growth has been rapid, but he’ll have to repeat his performance at CAL this Saturday in South Bend. Barkley will be helped by a running game that is humming along with Joe McKnight (400+ yards rushing @ 7 ypc), and an OLine that is starting to assert itself after facing “8 in the box” due to SC’s passing game struggles earlier this year. Playmaking WR Damian Williams is playing fantastic football and will be a tough cover for the Irish DBs. And look for not-so-secret weapon Fullback Stan Havili to be heavily involved in the passing game.

Defense – The SC DLine that leads the nation in sacks behind DEs Everson Griffen, Nick Perry and DT Jurell Casey, is licking it’s chops to get after the pass happy Irish. OLB Michael Morgan has made a habit of getting into the opponent’s backfield, while Safety Taylor Mays is playing at an extremely high level. I expect SC to turn up the heat “blitz-wise” as the game moves along in hopes of forcing some turnovers by the Irish QB Clausen.

Special Teams – This unit is starting to gel with punter Jake Harfman averaging over 40 ypp, and the return game behind punt returner Damian Williams giving SC’s offense good field position or scoring. Look for the smallest Trojan, Curtis McNeal, as he will join CJ Gable on kickoff returns.

Prediction:

USC – 27
Notre Dame - 13