BGI USC Game Report

7/31/2019 BGI USC Game Report

1/12

By Dan Murphy

notre Dame overcame four costly turn-overs, a second-half comeback by

USC and a heart attack of a final driveto exorcise a decade of Southern Califor-nia demons with a 20-16 victory over the

Trojans on a cold and rainy night in LosAngeles.

The Irish (7-5) needed a little bit of luckto hold on to their slim lead in the gamesfinal seconds. On a third-down play frommidfield with just more than a minute

left on the clock, USC quarterback MitchMustain hit fellow senior Ronald Johnsonwith a pass that looked like it would once

again break the hearts of Notre Dame fans.But Johnson, with nothing but 10-15 yardsof turf between him and a game-winning

touchdown, let the ball and the game slipthrough his hands. Four plays later, NotreDame senior safety Harrison Smith sealed

the victory with an interception at the Irish1-yard line.

Its about time we caught a break,

Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of thedropped pass. I think today, more thananything else, we brought the fight back

into the Fighting Irish.The win, Notre Dames third in a row,

snapped an eight-game losing streak to

archrival USC that dates back to 2002 and

included two last-second defeats at homein 2005 and 2009.

The Irish looked like they were on theirway to another tough loss when USCs

Joe Houston gave the Trojans a 16-13 lead

with just more than six minutes to play.Notre Dames offense had only one firstdown in the second half going into its

final drive when the Irish decided to callon senior running back Robert Hughesafter sophomore Cierre Wood nearly lost

a fumble on a 26-yard run.

We felt like we needed to get north andsouth, and he gives us that kind of a chan-

geup, Kelly said.Hughes powered through consecutive

runs of six, 12 and 13 yards to get the

Irish to a first-and-goal situation and thenfinished the drive with a five-yard scoring

blast up the middle to give Notre Damethe lead for good.

It was raining, and we didnt want to

throw the ball around, said Hughes, whohad 11 carries for 69 yards in the game.I like to look at myself as a workhorse in

any weather. If I get the carries and I getthe opportunity, Im going to make somegood things happen.

The uncharacteristically sloppy weather,mixed with the fastest defense freshmanTommy Rees has ever seen, led to the

young quarterback turning the ball overa season-high four times against the Tro-jans. USC capital ized on the mistakes,

scoring all 16 of its points on drives fol-

lowing the turnovers.The most detrimental of Rees mistakes

came when he fumbled deep in NotreDame territory midway through the third

USC g Cp v. 28, 2010

rising up!Trojans dro sure toucdown ass in te nal minute, and Irisovercome four turnovers and oor weater to nally beat USC

Senior safety Harrison Smith interceted USC quarterbac itch ustains ass into the end zone with 36 sec-onds left in the ame to seal otre Dames first ictory oer the Trojans since 2001.

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page 2

quarter. USC defensive end Nick Perryjarred the ball loose from Rees with a

big hit on the Irish 10-yard line and alsorecovered the fumble on the 2. Four playslater, Mustain scored the Trojans lone

touchdown on a one-yard sneak to tie thegame at 13.

The score was the first touchdown sur-

rendered by the Notre Dame defense in 13

quarters. The streak lasted for 227 playsand over two hours of game clock beforethe Trojans were able to cross the goal lineon fourth down.

We actually kind of get excited whenthings like that happen. Its like a chal-lenge for us, Smith said. It just gets us

going.Notre Dames defense stood up to the

challenge following Rees three intercep-

tions, holding the Trojans to a trio of

field goals despite excellent field posi-tion. On all three possessions, USC tookover inside Notre Dames 40-yard line,

but picked up no more than 18 yards onany of the drives before the Irish defensedug in its heels.

We put the defense in some bad situ-ations, and they just continued to battle,

Kelly said. Theyve done that all year.This is not a one-time occurrence.USC was forced to rely on Houston,

who entered the game with a mediocre

7-of-13 performance on field goals withmisses on all three of his attempts frommore than 40 yards. But the senior place-

kicker kept his team in the game by con-verting all three of his field goals from23, 37 and a career-long 45 yards.

T D 20, USC 16Nv. 27, 2010L.A. Mmal ClsumLs Angls

Attndanc 85,417

1st 2nd 3d 4t Tt

Nt Dam 0 13 0 7 20

USC 3 0 10 3 16

FirST QUArTer

ND USC

USC Houston45-yardfieldgoal4:09 0 3

Dv: 4plays,3yards,2:20

SeCoND QUArTer

ND Floyd1-yardpassfromRees(Rufferkick)2:39 7 3


ND Kamara1-yardpassfromRees

(Rufferkickfailed)0:07 13 3


ThirD QUArTer



USC Musta in 1 -yardrun (Houstonk ick) 5 :40 13 13


FoUrTh QUArTer



ND Hughes 5- ya rd r un ( Ru ffe r ki ck) 2: 23 2 0 1 6


ND USC

Ttal Fst Dwns 15 12 Rushing 8 4

Passing 7 8

Penalty 0 0

rusng Attmpts 32 30

Yads Gand rusng 160 84

Yads Lst rusng 13 4

Nt Yads rusng 147 80

Nt Yads Passng 149 181

PassesAttempted 34 38

PassesCompleted 20 21

HadIntercepted 3 1

PercentCompletion 58.8% 55.3%

YardsPerAttempt 4.4 4.8

YardsPerCompletion 7.5 8.6

Ttal offnsv Plays 66 68

Ttal Nt Yads 296 261 Avg.GainPerPlay 4.5 3.8

Fumbls: N.-Lst 2-1 0 -0

Pnalts: N.-Yads 1-10 8-47

Punts: N.-Yads 6-225 7-257

Avg.PerPunt 37.5 36.7

Avg.NetPunt 36.8 33.9

Punt rtuns: N.-Yads 0-0 1-4

Kckff rtuns: N.-Yads 5-106 3-79

intcptn rtuns: N.-Yads 1-0 3-8

Fumbl rtuns: N.-Yads 0-0 1-8

Mscllanus Yads 0 0

Pssssn Tm 28:25 31:35

Td-Dwn Cnvsns 5-15 4-17

Percentage 33.3% 23.5%

Fut-Dwn Cnvsns 0-0 2-3 Percentage 0.0% 66.7%

Sacks By: N.-Yads 0-0 1-5
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page 3

You cant let people keep hangingaround, USC head coach Lane Kiffin

said. We should be scoring touchdownsinstead of kicking field goals.

Operating without starting quarterback

Matt Barkley, who sat out the game due toa high ankle sprain, Kiffin said the Trojansneeded to do a better job of running the

ball. Notre Dame held the USC ground

game to 80 yards, or 112 yards less thanthey averaged through the first 11 gamesof the season. Notre Dame, meanwhile,racked up 147 rushing yards, making Sat-

urdays win its 26th straight when outrush-ing the opponent.

I dont know why the running game

didnt get going, Kiffin said. That wasthe plan this week, to run the ball.

The Notre Dame offense also struggled

to move the ball early, gaining only 47yards on its first four drives before finding

its rhythm in the second quarter.With 10 minutes remaining in the first

half, Wood started what would becomeNotre Dames longest scoring drive of the

year with a nifty nine-yard run. Sixteenplays and eight minutes later, Rees con-nected with junior wide receiver Michael

Floyd for a one-yard touchdown pass toput the Irish up 7-3. Floyd had five of histeam-leading 11 catches during the drive

that sparked the Notre Dame offense.The Trojans threatened to steal the mo-

mentum back immediately when fresh-

man Robert Woods returned the ensuingkickoff to the 44-yard line. But, after oneUSC first down, Irish linebacker Brian

Smith came up with a pair of clutch stops,including a pass breakup on fourth downwith 44 seconds remaining in the half.

When I get in the position to makeplays, I have to make them, Smith said.When my chance came I made the plays,

and it got things going the right way.

After the turnover on downs, Woodagain started the drive, running 28 yards.

Rees then drove the ball down the field

with passes to Floyd and sophomore tightend Tyler Eifert before finding senior widereceiver Duval Kamara in the corner of

the end zone with seven seconds left inthe half.

Kamara, who slipped and missed a pos-sible game-winning touchdown in lastyears loss to the Trojans, took advantage

of the chance for redemption a feelingshared by many of his teammates andfans.

Its huge, Kelly said. Just looking atthe faces of so many of the Notre Dame

fans that have been waiting so long for thismoment, to see the look on their faces. Itssatisfying.

top playersof the gaMeS: CH DThejuniors11grabsagainstrivalUSC

gavehim159totalreceptionsinhiscareerandplacedhimNo.3ontheall-timelist

atNotreDame.Thestaroffensiveweapon

pulledin aquick,one-yardslant fromfreshmansignal-caller TommyRees for

NotreDamesfirstscore,andconverted

twootherfirstdownsduringthemarch.Onthefollowingdrive,hehada19-yard

snagonthesidelinetogettheballintotheredzoneandaseven-yardslantto

the1-yardlinetosetupanIrishscorejust

beforehalftime.Floydalsohadaphysicalpresenceontheperimeterandmadekey

blocksfortherunninggame.

DS: B STHIrishheadcoachBrianKellynotedduring

USCprepweekthatthedefenseneeded

linebackerBrianSmithtoplaymorephysi-cally,andtheseniordisplayedatremen-douslevelofintensityandproduction

againsttheTrojans.Hewasconstantly

aroundthefootball,particularlyinpasscoverage,andcameawaywithtwokey

passbreakups.Hefinishedthedaywith

fivetackles,includingonebehindthelineofscrimmage.KellyinitiallyfeltthatSmith

talkedmorewithhismouththanhispads,

buttheversatileplayermadetheproperadjustmentsandhasbeenavitalcompo-

nenttoanimprovingdefense.SpC TS: B TUkSpecialteamsplaymaynothavebeena

decidingfactorinNotreDames20-16vic-

toryoverUSC,butfieldpositionwas.With

theTrojansoffensegettingpossessionofthefootballinNotreDameterritoryon

fouroccasions(threeinterceptionsand

acausedandrecoveredfumble),itwasuptosophomoreBenTurktomakesure

hedidntgivetheopponentmoreoppor-

tunitieswhenhehadachancetopunt.Hehadatotalofsixpuntsfora37.5-yard

average,anefforthighlightedbykicksof49,45and40yards.

Sohomore runnin bac Cierre Wood rushed for a ame-hih 89 yards on 15 carries, hihlihted by 28- and26-yard runs off misdirection draw lays that set u two of otre Dames three touchdowns.

phT SUzzI


4/12

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5/12

page 5

Cg T HvSTIt has been a goal for Brian Kellys foot-

ball team since he first arrived in SouthBend: play better football in Novemberthan they did in September. With threeimpressive wins to finish the 2010 regularseason, it appears that Kelly is beginning

to reap what he sowed.Notre Dame had lost eight of its lastnine games in the month of Novemberbefore Kelly took over as the Irish headcoach. During the summer, he recognizedthe home stretch as one of his new teams

biggest problems and set about fixing it.He stepped up the players early seasonworkouts and added a training table tobe able to better monitor the nutrition hisplayers received.

As a result, many of the Irish players

are stronger now than they were beforethe grueling three-month season began.The defense is outlasting its opponent andcontrolling the line of scrimmage, and theoffense is making the plays when theyneed to be made.

All the work that we have done during

the year points toward when you wantto play your best football, and that is inNovember, Kelly said. It validates theplan that has been in place from day one.A victory helps in some of those otherperceptual issues that are out there, but for

us we knew we were on the right track.The Irish are now 3-0 in the month of

November with two wins coming againstsome of the toughest teams on their sched-ule. Heading into the seasons final month,Notre Dame appeared to be a long shot to

achieve bowl eligibility. After wins overthen-No. 15 Utah and archrival USC, theIrish are all but guaranteed a spot in a re-spectable bowl game.

More than the 180-degree turnaround,Kellys biggest accomplishment has beenhis ability to get his players to believe in

g TS

Junior wide receier ichael loyd hauled in 11 recetions for 86 yards and a touchdown, with nine catches and 74 yards comin durin otre Dames three scorin dries.phT SUzzI


6/12

page 6

the system even during a series of hard

times.Coach Kelly, the first thing he said

when he came in was that he wanted to

play good football in November, Irishsenior linebacker Brian Smith said. Hepreached that all the way down the line.

Now its November, and its time to stepup.Irish senior safety Harrison Smith put

the bow on Notre Dames third Novem-ber victory with an interception on thelast meaningful play of Saturdays win.

He said the success against USC, andthroughout the month, has provided aturning point for the program.

The way weve been playing allthrough November is something thatweve been criticized for in the past, he

said. I think thats just a tribute to theway the coaches have coached us and the

way weve been training and working hardall offseason and during the season.

The hard work has led to promising re-

sults on the field and a team continuing togrow closer together off of it. The successleaves a much better taste in the mouths of

Irish fans than in years past and a renewedfaith that the team is improving. Now,Kellys team is faced with the task of con-

tinuing to get better in December.

TH CD BkSMidway through the second quarter, on

a third-and-long play near midfield, fresh-man quarterback Tommy Rees fired a passat his magnetic wide receiver, Michael

Floyd, along the Notre Dame sideline.Floyd hauled in the pass and picked up 12yards on the play, not only crossing mid-

field for the first time all game en routeto his teams first touchdown, but also

crossing off yet another name in the Irishrecord books.

The juniors fourth catch of the game

put him ahead of Tom Gatewood and

Golden Tate with the third highest total ofcareer receptions in Notre Dame history.

It feels good, Floyd said. Its some-

thing nice to leave a little thing back atyour school, but Im not looking at all thatstuff. Im just trying to play ball.

Floyd provided a spark with three ofhis five catches during the drive comingon third downs. He also continues to be

g TS

pTCpT CHToFFeNSe

QB:TOMMYREES

rB:CIERREWOOD,RobertHughes,JonasGray

FB: BobbyBurger

Wr:MICHAEL FLOYD,DUVALKAMARA, ROBBY

TOMA,JohnGoodman,TJJones,TheoRiddick

Te:TYLEREIFERT,MikeRagone

LT:ZACKMARTIN

LG:CHRISSTEWART

C:BRAXSTONCAVErG:TREVORROBINSON

rT:TAYLORDEVER,MattRomine

DeFeNSe

De:ETHANJOHNSON,KonaSchwenke

NG: SEANCWYNAR,HafisWilliams

De:KARPONLEWIS-MOORE

oLB: DARIUSFLEMING,PrinceShembo

iLB:BRIANSMITH,CarloCalabrese,DanFox

iLB:MANTITEO

oLB:KERRYNEAL

CB:DARRINWALLS,RobertBlanton

S:HARRISONSMITH

S:ZEKEMOTTA,JamorisSlaughter

CB:GARYGRAY,RobertBlanton

SPeCiAL TeAMSKck rtuns:DanielSmith,DuvalKamara,Patrick

Coughlin,DanFox,SteveFiler,ChrisSalvi,Robert

Hughes,BobbyBurger,PrinceShembo,AustinCol-

linsworth,BennettJackson

Punt rtun:JohnGoodman

Plackck:DavidRuffer

Kckff Cvag:BrianSmith,SteveFiler,Prince

Shembo,DanFox,DanielSmith,DavidRuffer,Pat-

rickCoughlin,BennettJackson,RobertBlanton,

AustinCollinsworth,LoWood

Punt:BenTurk

hld:RyanKavanagh

Lng Snapp:JordanCowart

St Snapp:BraxstonCave

Gunns:RobertBlanton,BennettJacksonots: LaneClelland,BarryGallup,MikeGolicJr.,

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a rock for Rees to lean on in tough spots.Hes a great player, and anytime you

can get the ball in his hands good thingsusually happen, Rees said. Hes some-body you have to look to.

Floyd, who has 165 career catches, hasa good chance to catch Rhema McKnight(170) during Notre Dames bowl game. He

will have to have a very big game to catchJeff Samardzija, who holds the top spotwith 179 career receptions.

Floyd also ranks among Notre Damesall-time top five in touchdown catches(second, 26) and receiving yards (fifth,

2,430). Samardzija leads in scoring grabswith 27 while Tate (2,707) tops the yard-

age leaders, followed by Samardzija(2,593), Derrick Mayes (2,512) and TimBrown (2,493).

CHp TH D BCkIt doesnt rain all that often in South-

ern California. In fact, the last time NotreDame had to battle the elements as well asthe Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum

was 26 years ago.The Irish entered their 1984 showdown

with USC in a very similar position to the

g TS

irst-year rish head coach Brian kelly set a oal uon his arrial on camus for his team to lay better inoember than it did at the beinnin of the 2010 season. Wth a 3-0 record and ictories oer then-o. 15 Utahand USC, the team has succeeded.

phT SUzzI
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8/12page 8

2010 team. The team was 6-4 and looking

to build on a three-game winning streak.They also hadnt left Los Angeles witha win in 16 years, a span covering eight

straight games. With the help of startingfullback Chris Smith, Notre Dame closedits season on a high note with a 19-7 win.

A generation later, Chriss son, BrianSmith, played a key role in ending anothereight-game losing streak to the Trojans on

a wet and soggy Coliseum field.Theres no other place I would rather

beat USC than in the Coliseum, especially

as my last regular season game with theFighting Irish, Smith said. Im just soexcited about the whole situation.

Smith had five tackles from his middlelinebacker position in his final showdownwith the Trojans, the best perhaps com-

ing on a third-down play late in the firsthalf when he got into to he backfield and

dragged down USC running back MarcTyler for a one-yard loss.

Smith also broke up a key fourth-down

pass attempt on the very next play to putthe Notre Dame offense in a good positionto score before the end of the half. The

senior linebacker, who saw limited play-ing time earlier in the year, finished hisregular season with 46 stops, including 3.5

tackles for loss.

SCUS TSRunningbackRobertHugheshastakena

backseatduringhisseniorseason,firsttofellowseniorArmandoAllenandthento

sophomoreCierreWood.But,heremained

anxiousandpreparedtogethisshot.Imchompingatthebittogetoutthere,

Hughessaidearlierthisweek.Youneverknowwhatmighthappen,soyouprepare

toplayandwheneveryournumberiscalled,

youplaylikeyoureNo.1.

SophomorewidereceiverTheoRiddickreturnedtothefieldSaturdayaftermiss-

ingfourgames withan ankle injuryhe

sustainedinNotreDames44-20winoverWesternMichiganOct.16.Riddicksawlim-

itedplayingtimeandwasthrowntoonly

onceduringthegame.SpeakingofWesternMichigan,theBron-

cosbecamebowleligibleFridaywithawinoverBowlingGreen.TenteamsontheIrish

schedulethisseasonarebowleligible,only

PurdueandUSCwhichcannotplayinabowlduetoNCAAsanctionsareelimi-

natedfrompostseasonplay.

SeniorsafetyHarrisonSmithandjuniorwidereceiverMichaelFloydweregamecap-

tainsforthethirdconsecutivegame.Smith

hasbeenacaptainfourtimesthisyearandFloydhasbeengiventhehonorfivetimes.

Saturdaysgamemarkedthefirsttime

since1941whenFrankLeahyandSamBarrybothdebutedfor theirrespectiveteams

thatbothUSCandNotreDamefacedoffwithfirst-yearheadcoaches.Kellybecame

thefirstIrishheadcoachtowinhisfirstshowdownwiththeTrojanssinceLouHoltzin1986.

g TS

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Senior linebacer Brian Smith, eihth on the team intacles (46) this year, layed his best football durinotre Dames 3-0 finish in oember.

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T DDvDU STTSTCSrusng N. Gan Lst Nt Avg. TD Lg.Wood 15 89 0 89 5.9 0 28Hughes 11 69 0 69 6.3 1 13TEAM 1 0 2 -2 -2.0 0 0Rees 4 2 5 -3 -0.8 0 1Riddick 1 0 6 -6 -6.0 0 0

Ttal 32 160 13 147 4.6 1 28

Passng Att. Cmp. Pct. int. Yds. TD Lg.Rees 32 20 62.5 3 149 2 22TEAM 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0

Ttal 34 20 58.8 3 149 2 22

rcvng N. Yds. TD Lg.Floyd 11 86 1 19Eifert 3 36 0 22Toma 2 15 0 8Hughes 1 8 0 8Riddick 1 6 0 6Kamara 1 1 1 1Wood 1 -3 0 0

Ttal 20 149 2 22

Punt rtuns N. Yds. TD Lg.None

Kck rtuns N. Yds. TD Lg.Jackson 5 106 0 29

Ttal 5 106 0 29

Puntng N. Avg. L g. Blk. TB FC 50+ in 20Turk 6 37.5 49 0 0 2 0 1

Ttal 6 37.5 49 0 0 2 0 1

Fld Gals Mad Att. Lg. Blk.None

Dfns Tack. Ast. Tt. TFL Sack-Yds. PD FF FrFleming 5 2 7 1-3 0-0 0 0 0Lewis-Moore 4 3 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0G.Gray 4 2 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0H.Smith 5 1 6 0-0 0-0 2 0 0Teo 3 3 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Blanton 4 1 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0B.Smith 2 3 5 1-1 0-0 2 0 0Motta 4 0 4 0-0 0-0 1 0 0Slaughter 3 1 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Neal 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Cwynar 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Johnson 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Burger 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Calabrese 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Cave 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Coughlin 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Filer 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Kamara 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Ruffer 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Walls 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Wood 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

intcptns N. Yds. TD Lg.H.Smith 1 0 0 0

Ttal 1 0 0 0

USC DvDU STTSTCSrusng N. Gan Lst Nt Avg. TD Lg.

Tyler 17 51 3 48 2.8 0 11

Gable 7 19 0 19 2.7 0 5

Woods 1 6 0 6 6.0 0 6

Baxter 1 4 0 4 4.0 0 4

Havili 2 3 1 2 1.0 0 3

Mustain 2 1 0 1 0.5 1 1

Ttal 30 84 4 80 2.7 1 11

Passng Att. Cmp. Pct. int. Yds. TD Lg.

Mustain 37 20 54.1 1 177 0 34

Baxter 1 1 100.0 0 4 0 4Ttal 38 21 55.3 1 181 0 34

rcvng N. Yds. TD Lg.

Woods 8 81 0 34

Johnson 6 40 0 15

Ellison 5 38 0 14

Havili 2 22 0 19

Ttal 21 181 0 34

Punt rtuns N. Yds. TD Lg.

Johnson 1 4 0 4

Ttal 1 4 0 4

Kck rtuns N. Yds. TD Lg.

Woods 3 79 0 38

Ttal 3 79 0 38

Puntng N. Avg. L g. Blk. TB FC 50+ in 20Harfman 7 36.7 49 0 1 4 0 4

Ttal 7 36.7 49 0 1 4 0 4

Fld Gals Mad Att. Lg. Blk.

Houston 3 3 45 0

Ttal 3 3 45 0

Dfns Tack. Ast. Tt. TFL Sack-Yds. PD FF Fr

Smith 5 7 12 1-3 0-0 0 0 0

Burnett 4 6 10 0.5-3 0-0 0 0 0

Wright 7 0 7 0-0 0-0 2 0 0

Casey 0 6 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Galippo 5 1 6 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Armstead 1 3 4 0.5-3 0-0 0 0 0

Jones 1 3 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Morgan 0 4 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Baucham 3 0 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Harris 0 3 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Kennard 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Robey 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Wright 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Horton 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0

McDonald 0 1 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Perry 1 0 1 1-5 1-5 1 1 1

Simmons 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Team 1 0 1 1-2 0-0 0 0 0

Thomas 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

intcptns N. Yds. TD Lg.

Kennard 1 8 0 8

Galippo 1 0 0 0

Jones 1 0 0 0Ttal 3 8 0 8

3Consecutive victories with fresh-manquarterbackTommyReesasthestarter.HejoinsMattLoVecchio(2000),

SteveBeuerlein(1983)andRalphGug-lielmi(1951)as NotreDamefreshman

quarterbackswhohelpedsteervictories

againsttheTrojans.Reesfirstthreestartscameonthreehallowedgrounds:Notre

DameStadium,YankeeStadiumandtheLosAngelesMemorialColiseum.

5StraightgamesthatNotreDamesop-ponentscoredfirst.ItstartedagainstNavyonOct.23andcontinuedwithTulsa,

Utah,ArmyandUSC.ButwhereasNavyandTulsatalliedtouchdownsontheirfirst

possessionsinvictories,theUtes,Black

KnightsandTrojansscoredonlyfieldgoalsenroutetotheirlosses.

6-0RecordunderBrianKellywhen

theIrishoutrushedtheopposi-tionthisyear,highlightedbyeachofthelastthreegames.TheIrishpickedup61

yardson thegroundduring thegame-

winningdriveandfinishedwith147yardsrushingtoUSCs80.NotreDamehasa26-

gamewinningstreakdatingbackto2005

whenitoutrushesitsopponent.

7Secondsleftinthefirsthalfwhense-niorDuvalKamarasnaredaone-yardscoringpassfromReesonthird-and-goal

withnotimeoutsleft.Theplaylookedvir-tually identicalto last yearslast-chance,

fourth-downplayfromtheUSC4inwhich

quarterbackJimmyClausenfiredtheballtowardKamara,wholosthisfootingon

theslipperyturf.

8:02TimeelapsedduringNotreDames 16-play, 79-yardtouchdowndrive in thesecond quartertomoveahead7-3.Thelongestprevious

scoringmarchfortheIrishthisyearwas6:23ona 15-play,80-yarddriveversus

PittonOct.9.The16playsalsowerethemostbytheIrishonascoringjourneythisseason.

11Punts in the gameby the twoteams,withonlyonereturn.USCdidhaveafour-yardreturninthesecond

half,butitwascalledbackbecauseofablockinginfractionbytheTrojans.Both

teamsoptedtoeitherfaircatchtheball

orletitdrop.

13QuartersinarowNotreDamesdefense had not permitted atouchdown,until USCfinallytalliedits

loneTDofthegameona two-yarddriveafteranIrishturnover.Thatisthelon-

geststreakbythedefensesinceitsetthe

schoolrecordof23backin1980.

26CareertouchdownreceptionsbyMichaelFloydafterhisone-yardreceptionwith2:39remaininginthesec-

ondquarter. HetiedformerteammateGoldenTateforsecondmostscoringre-

ceptionsinacareeratNotreDame.OnlyJeff Samardzija (2003-06) with 27hasmore.Floyds11receptionsagainstUSC

tiedhiscareerhighinagame.

38Possessionsbyan opposing of-fensebeforeitwasabletoscoreatouchdownonNotreDamesdefense,dat-ingbacktotheOct.30Tulsagame.When

theTrojansfinallybrokethatstreakinthe

thirdquarter,itcameonatwo-yarddriveafteranIrishfumble.

56YearssinceNotreDamelastwonagameonNov.27,untilthe20-16victoryversustheTrojans.Ithadbeenoneofthefewsub-.500datesinIrishannals,

withthelastwinoccurringatUSCin1954

(headcoachTerryBrennansfirstseason).Sincethen,theIrishhadbeen0-5-1on

Nov.27,mostrecentlya41-10lossatUSC

in2004.

B TH UBS


10/12page 10

SD TH CkNotre Dame head coach Brian Kelly On the postgame celebration: The feelings in our

locker room are really one of controlled excitement.They are excited about the win, but the feeling I got inthere is that it was everybody pulling together today.

On coming back to win the game: Weve overcome

a lot of adversity. We faced it here in the fourth quarter,and when we were required to play our best we came upwith a big drive and a big stop. And thats really whatweve tried to talk about all year. We cannot win here

unless all three units play football.

On the running game during the game-winning

drive: Theres a lot of things that are going on, on thesideline. Were trying to make adjustments as things go.

We struggled with throwing the football, and we reallyhad to just dig down deep. Sometime its just more aboutwill and desire and want to, and we have a lot of those

that weve built on during the year.

On the teams development: I would like to have

some more wins on the board, but I love the developmentof our football team and where were going from thatstandpoint. Look back to the 1-3 start and how we played

after that. We think we stumbled twice where maybe weshouldnt have, but our kids never blinked. They keptplaying hard, and they kept competing. Thats why we

are where we are in November.

On the scoring drive at the end of the first half: Webattled to get 44 seconds on the clock, I think we settledfor 41. I felt if we could pick up at least enough yardagewhere we wouldnt put our defense in a risky situation

throwing the ball that we would take a shot. So, once wewere able to get the big run thats when we said, Letsgo, Lets try to put this in the end zone.

On what freshman quarterback Tommy Rees didbest: He just kept competing. Hes a competitive kid.

He never, ever, lost his focus on what we wanted to do;he kept competing. Thats all we wanted him to do. He

went out there and got us in the right play. We checkeda lot of those plays from the sideline in the last drive to

make sure we got him in the right place, and he made all

the right checks.

On the importance of a win against USC: There

are a lot of things we needed to get out of the way. Thefourth quarter, finishing in the fourth quarter. Weve donethat. Beating our archrival in USC. Weve done that.

Weve put those away. Now we can focus on ourselves

and getting better each and every week.

Notre Dame freshman quarterback Tommy Rees

On the USC defense: Hats off to USC, theyre agreat team. They made things pretty difficult for me there

for a while. The offense really rallied together, and to beable to bounce back like that on the last drive shows whatkind of character and leadership we have.

On getting frustrated with interceptions: At times Igot pretty upset, but you know you have no other choice

you have to stay composed. Your team is relying on

you, and Coach [Brian Kelly] did a great job of keepingme focused throughout all of that.

On the final drive: We were thinking touchdown

first. But once we crossed over into field goal range, wewere thinking, Alright, we have a great kicker; we cantie it up. Lets take care of the ball. But Rob [Robert

Hughes] wasnt satisfied, and neither was the offensiveline or any of us. We kept running hard, and he got intothe end zone.

Notre Dame senior safety Harrison Smith

On his game-clinching interception: Going up forthe ball, I was thinking no matter what I have to comedown with this because the games over. When I actuallycame down I was like, Oh, Im in the end zone great.

But at the same time I knew our offensive line wouldcome out and get a good push, and Tommy would get thesnaps and a get a little bit further out and waste the clock.

It was just a sigh of relief.

On USC receiver Ronald Johnsons drop duringthe final drive: Theres really not much to think. Myheart dropped, I knew it was coming and just lost my

footing. He made a great move, and I just lost my foot-ing real quick. I think Jamoris [Slaughter] mightve gothim down. It wouldve been close. I was just glad I saidmy prayers.

Notre Dame senior running back Robert Hughes On playing in a bowl game: Any bowl game sounds

good to me. It gives me a chance to continue to bearound the team and the guys that I love just hanging

around and having that team camaraderie. To have theextra couple practices and an extra month or so and play

another game is great. You have limited opportunities toplay the game of football, and we have another one. Itsa blessing.

USC head coach Lane Kiffin

On losing to Notre Dame: I am very disappointed inthe outcome. It is a very special game for a lot of people,

and we let them down today. We worked hard to get thateight-game streak. We just have to come back next weekand execute. We played conservatively with a backup

quarterback, and it came down to the last play. If you hadtold me before that we would be plus four on turnovers. I

would have expected a different result. We have to scoremore points off turnovers.

reshman quarterbac Tommy ees had a difficult eenin while throw-

in three intercetions and losin a fumble near his own oal line, buthe also maintained enouh oise to steer the ame-winnin drie in theclosin minutes.

phT SUzzI


11/12page 11

pp vSTDUSC Ug g vS. T D U DSTheTrojansenteredthecontestranked26thnationally

inrushingyardspergamewitha192.4-yardaverage,high-lightedbyarobust5.2yardspercarry.However,theIrish

rundefensehasbeenafortressthroughoutNovemberand

heldtheTrojansto80yards.NotonememberofthedeepUSCrunningcorpsthatcarriedmorethanonceeclipseda

3.0averageperattempt,andonlyoneofthe30running

playshadagainthatexceededsixyards,an11-yardrunbyMarcTyler.However, Tylers17 carriesnettedmerely48

yards,whileC.J.Gablessevenattemptstotaled19yards.

NooneontheIrishdefensehadmorethanseventackles,atestamenttohoweveryonecontributed.Thelinemen,in

particular,didaconsistentlyeffectivejobofdefeatingtheblocksanddidntjustengagetheoffensivelinemensothat

thelinebackersandsafetiescouldcleanup.Rather,onnu-

merousoccasionstheymadethestopthemselves.DvTg: NotreDame

USC pSSg g vS. T D pSS DSMinusstarterMatt Barkley(high anklesprain), USC

openedconservativelywithprimarily hitches,bubblescreensandnakedbootlegpassesunderfirst-timeTrojans

starterMitchMustain.Seldomdidthe Trojansgodown-

field,andonmostoftherolloutsorbootlegsMustainoftenfoundhimselfundersomeduress.InsidelinebackerBrian

Smithwasastandoutintheshortpassesacrossthemiddle,

twicebreakingupthrowsandregularlyprovidingexcellentcoverage.Mustainwasnothelpedoutbyareceivingcorps

thatdroppedaboutahalf-dozenpasses,mostnotablya

wideopenRonaldJohnsonattheIrish15forwhatcouldhavebeenthegame-winning53-yardtouchdown.

Anunderratedandperhapsunder-publicizedstatisthat

enteringthiscontest,NotreDamewasallowingonly10.1yardspercompletionthefewestyardspermittedsince

the11-1teamin1993allowedonly9.5.ThisyearsfigurecontinuedtobebolsteredbythefactthatMustains20

completionsaveragedonly8.6yards.Mustainsfinalpass,

anunnecessaryheaveintotheendzonewhileunderpres-sure,resultedinseniorsafetyHarrisonSmithsinterception.

DvTg: NotreDame

T D Ug g vS. USC U DSThesprintmisdirectiondrawtosophomoretailbackCierre

WoodtwicereapedhugedividendsfortheIrishnearthe

endofeachhalf.WithNotreDameleading7-3andonly44

secondsremaininginthefirsthalf,WoodtookthedrawplayonNotreDamesfirstplayfromits38andrambled28yards

totheUSC34,settingupanIrishtouchdownwithsevensecondsleftandprovidinga two-scorecushion.Thenon

thegame-winningdriveinthefourth-quarter,Woodtook

thesamehandoffonthesecondplay26yardstotheTrojans40,wheretightendTylerEifertalsorecoveredhisfumble.

Meanwhile,senior Robert Hughesprovided anideal

complementofpower,particularlyonback-to-back13-and12-yardrunsjustbeforehisgo-aheadtouchdownfromfive

yardsoutatthe2:23mark.Wood(89yardsrushing)and

Hughes(69yardsrushing)combinedfor158yardsonthe

groundand6.1yardspercarry.Itwasvintage,physicalfootballattheend,withtheIrishoffensivelineandtherunninggamehavingitsfinesthouroftheseason.

DvTg: NotreDame

T D pSSg g vS. USC pSS DSItwasaroughoutingforfreshmanTommyRees,who

threwthreeinterceptionsthatledtothreeUSCfieldgoalsandalsolostafumbleonablind-sidesackthatsetupa

two-yardtouchdowndrivefortheTrojans.NotreDamewentdownfieldevenlessfrequentlythanUSC,

yetMichaelFloyd(11catches,tyinghiscareerhigh,for86

yards)alwaysseemedtofindjustenoughofagap,beitwideorintheslot,tokeepthechainsmovingonseveraldrives.

Hegrabbedthreeclutchthird-downpassesonthefirstIrish

scoringdrive,highlightedbyhistouchdown,snared19-andsix-yardthrowsonthesecond,andprovidedsomebreathing

roomwithan11-yardcatchtobeginthegame-winningmarch.

DvTg: USC

SpC TSUSCseniorwalk-onkickerJoeHoustonhadthebestgame

ofhiscareerwhenheconvertedallthreeofhisfieldgoal

attemptsininclementconditions.Heenteredthecontesthavingmissedonallfiveofhisattemptsfrom35yardsand

beyond,butdrilledthree-pointersfrom45and37yardsagainsttheIrish.NotreDamesDavidRufferdidntattemptanyfieldgoalsbutmissedonaPATintheclosingseconds

ofthefirsthalfthatloomedlargemostofthesecondhalf.PenaltiesonaUSCpuntreturnandonanIrishkickreturn

gavebothteamsunfavorablefieldpositionatthetime.

USCspuntinggamewasabletobottleupNotreDamewithintheshadowofitsgoalline,particularlyinthethird

quarter,withfourpuntsthatweredownedinsidethe20.

OnlyoneIrishpuntwasdownedinsidetheUSC20.DvTg: USC

THD-DW (D UTH-DW) CvSS

Neitherteamexcelledinthisarea,buttheIrishfaredbet-terbyfinishing5of15(33.3percent)comparedtoUSCs

4of17(23.5percent),althoughtheTrojansdidscoreonfourth-and-inchesandalsoconvertedonfourth-and-seven

ontheirfinaldrivebeforethrowingtheinterception.

Afterfailingonthird-and-one,twiceonthird-and-twoandthenonthird-and-threeonitsfirstfourpossessionsofthe

game,NotreDamewas3of3onitsfirsttouchdowndrive:

a13-yardpasstoFloydonthird-and-seven,afour-yardgrabbyFloydonthird-and-fourandatwo-yardtouchdown

byFloydonthird-and-goal.Thatdriveitselfgivestheslight

nodtotheIrish.

DvTg: NotreDame

TUvSThemostamazingdatafromthegameisthatUSCwasplus-

threeinturnoverswithits4-1advantage,yetstillmanagedtolosethegameathome.Infact,theTrojansweretrailing20-16

evenwitha4-0leadinturnovers.USCwassetupinNotre

DameterritoryfourtimesafterIrishmiscuesandmanaged16pointsfromthem,butthedamagecouldhavebeenmuch

worse.TheoneturnoverNotreDameforcedcamewith36secondsleftwhentheTrojanswereaimingfortheendzone.

DvTg: USC

SSToachievevictoryattheLosAngelesColiseumdespite1)

committingfourturnoverstoUSCsone,2)notwinningthe

specialteamsmatchupand3)producingonly296yardsof

totaloffensemeansthatNotreDametrulyhadtobethebetterteam.

ThedropbyJohnsononthefinalpossessionnotwith-

standing,thiswasprobablyNotreDamesmostclutchdefensiveperformanceagainstaqualityopponentina

tightcontestsinceopeningthe2006seasonwitha14-10

victoryatGeorgiaTech.ThreeinterceptionsandafumblebyReesgavethefootballonasilverplattertotheTrojans

deepinNotreDameterritorythroughoutthecontest,buttheIrishdefenseduginanddidnotallowthegametogetawayfromit,forcingfieldgoalsthreetimes.

Oftenfindingitselfinpoorfieldposition,NotreDamesoffensestillrespondedwith79-,62-and77-yardtouch-

downdrives.Thefirstmilkedaseason-high8:02offthe

clock,whilethesecondwasahurry-up37-secondblitzkrieginfiveplaysjustbeforehalftime.Thefinalewasa clutch

game-winninganswerafterUSChadpulledaheadwith

6:25leftinthecontest.Defense,aproductiverunninggamelatein thecontest

andtheabilitytofinishinthefourthquarterwerecor-

nerstonesuponwhichfirst-yearIrishheadcoachBrianKelly

wantedto build.Those messages,and theirexecution,crystallizedinNovember,particularlyinthefinale.


12/12 page 12

TUg pTWith just less than 1:30 left in the contest, USC trailing

20-16 and facing third-and-seven at its 47, Trojans quarter-

back Mitch Mustain faded back and unloaded a rare passdownfield to senior wideout Ronald Johnson, who wasrunning a post route. When Irish senior safety Harrison

Smith reacted to the play, he slipped on the wet turf, leav-ing Johnson wide open and all alone for what appeared tobe a 53-yard touchdown. The pass hit him in the hands and

almost in stride before harmlessly dropping to the turf.

To USCs credit, it still converted on fourth-and-sevenand drove as far as the Irish 23 before Smith intercepted a

Mustain heave into the end zone with 36 seconds remain-ing in the contest. Virtually any national champion canlook back on a game(s) or play(s) during that season and

state, Whew, we caught a huge break there, otherwiseour victory would not have been possible. Likewise,sometimes you need a play like that just to reverse a los-

ing trend or culture. What is important is although NotreDame caught that break, it also finished out the drive byforcing a turnover to help seal the verdict.

It is the type of play that might be looked back on some

day as not only a turning point in the 2010 USC game,but in the future direction of the program as an example of

using the breaks to your advantage.

STT TH gNotre Dame lost the turnover battle, 4-1 yet remark-

ably still won the game on the road. There is no way we

would have picked an Irish victory had we been toldbeforehand that USC would be plus-three in the turnovercategory.

Its not just the deficit in that area, but the fact that allfour turnovers occurred in Irish territory. Instead of givingup a potential 28 points with those miscues, Notre Dame

was able to mitigate the damage to 16 points.

An interception by USC linebacker Chris Galippo atthe Irish 31 resulted in only three net yards and led to a

45-yard field goal. Another USC interception, this one by linebacker DevonKennard to open the third quarter, set up shop at the Notre

Dame 21. The Trojans drove to a first down at the 9, buthad to settle for a 23-yard field goal. Defensive end Nick Perry forced a fumble by quarter-

back Tommy Rees that Perry recovered at the 2. On fourthdown, USC quarterback Mitch Mustain barely snuck infor the touchdown after a stout effort by the Irish defense.

In the fourth quarter, safety Marshall Jones picked off

a Rees pass at the Irish 38 when the score was knottedat 13, and again the Trojans had to settle for three on a

37-yard field.

vB BUpTHead coach Brian Kelly stated three priorities for the

2010 football team way back before spring practice even

commenced: stop the run in order to play champion-ship-level defense; finish games in the fourth quarter,especially with an ability to run the ball when the other

defense is getting tired; and be a better, more completeteam in November than at the start of the season.

You cant draw up the blueprint any better than what the

Irish achieved in the regular-season finale versus USC.

1. The defense was magnificent, yielding only one touch-down that on a two-yard drive that took four hard-earned

plays in three games. Furthermore, the Irish allowed ameager average of 233.0 yards total offense against potentfoes Utah, Army and USC.

2. During the 77-yard game-winning drive against USC,62 came via the running game, highlighted by a 26-yardsprint by sophomore running back Cierre Wood and 12- and

13-yard jaunts by senior ball carrier Robert Hughes beforehe powered his way in from five yards out.

3. Finally, after losing leads in the fourth quarter during

defeats to Michigan, Michigan State and Tulsa, the Irish ral-

lied to finish on the road in the fourth quarter against USC.It took some detours along the way, but Kellys vision for

November was fulfilled.

TH BSvTS By Lou Somogyi

Taking acLoSer LookWhAT WorKeD rusng attack. Despitelosingsenior

starterArmandoAllen,NotreDamehas

beenabletofindasparkinitsrunninggameinCierreWood.Thesophomorear-

rivedoncampuswithplentyoffanfareasa

freshman,buthehadaratherhumblingex-

periencewatchingfromthesideline.Nowthathehasbegantogothroughthematu-

rationprocessintheoffensivescheme,hehasproducedmoreonthefieldand

ranfor89yardson15carriesagainstUSC.ThethundertoWoodslightningversusthe

TrojanswasseniorRobertHughes,who

poundedfor69yardson11rushesandafive-yardtouchdown.Neitherplayerlost

yardageinthecontest,whichisanindica-

tionthattheoffensivelinecontrolledthe

lineofscrimmage.

run dfns. Nopassinggameiseffectivewithoutasolidrunninggame,andtheIrish

defenseputonquiteadisplayagainstanath-

leticUSClineup.TheTrojanswereheldtojust80yardsrushing,ledbyredshirtjuniorMarc

Tyler,ahighschoolclassmateofformerIrish

quarterbackJimmyClausen,with17rushesfor48yards(averageof2.8yardspercarry).

Cmpsu. Theremayhavebeenpres-sureonthelosingestseniorclassinIrish

history(23-26overallrecord)tobreakthe

programseight-yearlosingstreakagainstUSC,buttheIrishwereabletostaywiththe

plan.Usuallyatonofflagscanbethrownin

thesetypesofrivalrygamesduetotheag-gressivenatureofplay,butNotreDamewas

penalizedonlyonetimefor10yards(hold-

ingonakickoffreturn).TheTrojanssuffered

eightinfractionsforatotalof47yards.

WhAT DiDNT WorKPtctng t ftball. TheIrishsuffered

anumberofmiscuesthatallowedUSCto

remaininthecontest.TrojansdefenderswereabletogettheirhandsonthreeofTommy

ReespassestosetuptheoffenseattheNotre

Dame31-,21-and38-yardline.Thefreshmanquarterbackwasalsostrippedfrombehindon

asack,andtheUSCdefenserecoveredattheIrish2-yardline.TheIrishdefensecompeted,

however,andonlyallowedonetouchdownin

threered-zonechances.NotreDame,mean-while,cameawaywiththreetouchdownson

allthreeofitsred-zoneopportunities.

Applyng pssu. USCmayhavehadtostartMitchMustainatquarterbackdueto

ahighanklesprainsufferedbyMattBar-

kley,buttheIrishdidntspendmuchtime

attemptingtogethimfrazzled.Notbeing

creditedwithanysacksorquarterbackpres-

suresdidnthavemuchofaneffectonNotreDamespasscoverage.Thedefensecompiled

fivepassbreakups,andseniorsafetyHarrison

SmithpickedoffaMustainthrowinthefinalminutetoclinchNotreDames20-16victory.

Td-dwn cnvsns.NotreDamehad

abalancedattackwith147yardsrushingand149yardspassing,butitonlyconverted

5of15tries(33.3percent)onthirddown.Anumberoftheattemptsrequiredonlya

coupleofyardstogetanewsetofdowns.

TheIrishsustaineda16-play,79-yardscoringdrivebyconvertingontwothirddownsand

scoringonthethirdwithaone-yardpassto

juniorwidereceiverMichaelFloyd,buttherecouldbeahigherpercentagesuccessratein

thisarea.

Jasn Sapp

Documents

BGI USC Game Report