Coming off the 52-0 win over Bowling Green, it is time to play another faceless opponent. The USC Trojans coming off a bye week are going to be prepared to play the Fightin’ Irish. The last time they played was at Washington and they lost 28-14. Their true Freshman QB Kedon Slovis has been medically cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the first series against Utah on September 20th.
The Irish on the other hand are playing there third consecutive home game. Home has been very good for the Irish in this home stand. The combined score of the last two home games is 87-20. That is a pretty good margin. Since the loss to Georgia, the Irish defense has been very stingy. The defense has been playing well against the run and the pass. Last week Bowling Green was almost less than one dimensional. The Trojans are definitely not Bowing Green, but they are not Georgia either. On the line in the game is also the Jeweled Shillelagh. The Jeweled Shillelagh has 48 shamrocks and 37 Trojan heads. The overall record 48-37-5.
Playing To A Gold Standard
“Although I was pleased with our guys in the way they handled themselves and stayed focus and prepared. We were able to obviously learn more about our
football team as we prepare for USC this week. Prepare for a team that is very, very deadly on offense in the sense that they can make you pay if you are not
prepared and playing every single play.”
“I know our guys are excited. I’m sure they’re coming off a bye week healthy and ready to play their best as well. So that’s my take on USC. They’ve done really, really good job of putting themselves in a position to challenge for the Pac 12 championship and put themselves in a position to obviously do great things
this year.”
Key Factors To Taking Down Troy
Offense
Keep Ian Book vertical. Once again the offensive line has done a tremendous job of protecting Book. The offensive will also need to open the line so that Tony Jones Jr and Jafar Armstrong will need space to do their magic. With the return of Armstrong the offensive running that was already good, steps it up a notch and will make you think what is coming next.
Defense
The defense doesn’t have to change much. They just need to maintain their assignments, get in the QB’s head early and not get beat in the secondary.
Special Teams
All the Special Team need to do is stay clean from penalties and field the ball cleanly on kickoffs.
The 12th Man
There is a request from various fan boards about fan participation. Participation in the form of the 12th man. Crowd noise played a factor in the game against ND in the game against Georgia. ND stadium crowd noise will need to be in full effect Saturday evening. Making the true Freshman Quarterback feel uncomfortable will be important. A lot NOISE will be needed against the Trojans.
Our Picks
Jimmy
USC is in disarray. They return 13 starters from last season. They have a new Offensive Coordinator and their Head Coach Clay Helton could be on the way out by this game. USC has a brutal schedule. Gone are the Pete Carroll days of USC for now, the Trojans are rebuilding and redefining themselves.
Jimmy chooses ND 37-20
George
USC plays two road games in a row. The play at Washington , then they travel to Notre Dame. The Trojans always tend to play the Irish tough. last year they were winning at halftime until Alohi Gilman stood up and made that memorable halftime speech. The Irish will make sure that the trend of winning continues in to the bye week. the Irish defense will speak up at this game.
George chooses ND 42-13
Game Day Information
The GameDay weather is supposed to be just cold. Check out the forecast from our friends at ABC57 Weather
Use this link to get all your Game Day information
Their will be two C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft for the flyover on Saturday following the National Anthem.
Time: 7:36 p.m. ET
Site: Notre Dame Stadium
Radio: Notre Dame Radio Network
• SiriusXM (Channel 129)
• 96.1 FM, 101.5 FM & 960 AM
Cheers and Go Irish!🍀⚡🏈
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