Notre Dame’s Great Season Hinges on USC Showdown

Notre Dame’s strong 2024 season could be defined by its performance against USC. Will the Irish rise to the challenge?

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio (97) celebrates after a win against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Notre Dame has battled back since week two better than anyone could've hoped

Since week two's unfortunate loss to Northern Illinois, the thought around the Irish program was that they had to win each of the remaining 10 games to reach the CFP, the clear goal of this season, Marcus Freeman's third.

Since that moment, Notre Dame has essentially played in 9 consecutive playoff elimination games. How has it responded? With a perfect 9-0 record and a score differential in this time span of 392-99.

Notre Dame was written off by almost everyone, most notably the national media, after the week two loss. The Irish were largely "out of sight, out of mind" for much of the middle part of the college football season. Under the radar, the team kept winning and improving week to week and is now one win away from pulling off a miraculous comeback.

GG, Army. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/pqVSxGtT9n

— Notre Dame Fighting Irish (@Insidetheirish) November 24, 2024

The razor's edge between success and failure

There's no gray area in terms of what's at stake for Notre Dame as it squares off with USC. Notre Dame will either win and likely host a playoff game in South Bend in late December, the top goal of the regular season, or it will lose to a five-loss USC team, likely miss the CFP, and leave a very bitter taste in Irish fans' mouths the entire off-season.

For as great as Notre Dame has played for the last nine games, should the team end up missing the CFP with losses to Northern Illinois at home as a 28-point favorite and to a USC team that's lost a handful of games, 2024 will be considered a failure. There's simply no way around it.

And should the Irish defeat USC and lock in a hosting CFP seed? It'll be one of the most impressive comebacks by a coach and Notre Dame team in modern history. The stakes are that high. The chasm between these two results couldn't be more vast.

Notre Dame controls its own destiny, knows it, and will be prepared for this moment. This is what Notre Dame Football should feel like more often, in games that shape the national landscape with everybody watching.

Beat USC, and the season is amazing.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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