Notre Dame Defense Had An Epic Performance Against USC
I enjoyed watching Notre Dame shut down the USC offense early, but I must admit throughout I kept waiting on the breakout to come. There's no way you can keep this offense - with Lincoln Riley running it, with Caleb Williams as the trigger man, with all that skill talent - in check for four quarters, right?
I was wrong.
Notre Dame put together and epic defensive performance last night against USC during the team's 48-20 win. It was a great team victory, but the Notre Dame defense was the driving force behind it.
The numbers were incredibly impressive.
USC came into the game leading the nation in scoring offense (51.8), they were second in yards per play (8.5), 3rd in passing yards per game (352.8), 3rd in yards per pass attempt (10.5), 3rd in passer rating (197.37), 4th in total offense (521.0), 6th in yards per rush attempt (6.0) and 10th in fewest turnovers on the season (4).
USC also ranked 13th in yards per completion (14.9) and 13th in plays of 30+ yards in the pass game. USC also ranked 18th nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed.
Notre Dame dominated USC in every single one of those categories.
USC was held to 20 points in the game, and seven of those points came on an 18-yard touchdown drive after the Trojan offense was set up by a long punt return. USC's previous low this season was 42 points, and the 20 points is the 4th lowest output by a Lincoln Riley offense in his entire tenure as a head coach.
Notre Dame held USC to just 302 yards and 4.08 yards per play. The 302 yards was the lowest total by a Riley offense at USC, and the fourth lowest of his tenure as a head coach. The 4.08 yards per play was the lowest total Riley's offense has had in his entire head coaching career. Keep in mind this is Riley's seventh season as a head coach, and he was a head coach for 85 games prior to last night.
The previous low in yards per play was 4.56 yards against Baylor in 2020. In 85 games, Riley's offense was held below 5.0 yards per play just five times.
Notre Dame's 5 turnovers forced were the most ever against a Riley offense. The previous high was 4 and Riley's USC and Oklahoma offenses only had more than 2 turnovers in a game on two other occasions.
USC had just 7 turnovers in the entire 2022 season, and it had just 4 turnovers coming into the matchup against Notre Dame. USC had just one game with more than 1 turnover prior to last night's loss, which puts last night's Notre Dame performance into context.
Trojan fans trying to spin this game will point to those turnovers as USC beating themselves, but each of those turnovers were forced, and it's something we've never seen from a Riley offense.
USC's 2.78 yards per rush attempt was the second lowest of the Riley tenure in Los Angeles. It was the third worst performance of Riley's tenure as a head coach.
Running back MarShawn Lloyd was averaging 7.8 yards per carry coming into last night's game and Austin Jones was averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Lloyd went for 5.8 yards per carry thanks to a 31-yard touchdown run on an option play. He had 15 yards on his 7 other carries (2.1 YPC). Jones was held to 2.5 yards per carry (11 carries, 27 yards). That duo rushed for 73 yards on 19 carries (3.8 YPC).
The dominance against the pass game was even greater.
USC's 199 passing yards was the lowest output of Riley's tenure in a game his team lost.
The 5.4 yards per attempt was the third lowest total was also the lowest output from a Riley offense in a loss. It was the third lowest total of his tenure as a head coach.
USC averaged just 8.65 yards per catch. That was the lowest total from a Riley offense of his career as a head coach. USC's previous low under Riley was 11.25 against Oregon State early last season. USC's lowest total of this season was 13.1 against Stanford.
This was arguably the most stunning output of the game. Just look at the receivers numbers.
Tahj Washington came into the game with 21 catches for 456 yards. He was averaging 21.7 yards per catch. He had 4 catches for 41 yards against Notre Dame, just 10.3 yards per catch.
Brenden Rice came in with 21 catches for 434 yards. He was averaging 20.7 yards per catch. He had 2 catches for 18 yards against Notre Dame, just 9.0 yards per catch.
Dorian Singer came in with 12 catches for 157 yards. He was averaging 13.1 yards per catch. He averaged 16.7 yards per catch in 2022 while racking up 66 catches for 1,105 yards for Arizona. He had 2 catches for 22 yards against Notre Dame, just 11.0 yards per catch.
Mario Williams came into the game with 17 catches for 206 yards. He was averaging 12.1 yards per catch. He had 5 catches for 28 yards against Notre Dame, just 5.6 yards per catch.
Zachariah Branch came in with 13 catches for 178 yards. He was averaging 13.7 yards per catch. He had 2 catches for 17 yards against Notre Dame, just 8.5 yards per catch.
Michael Jackson III came in with 8 catches for 87 yards. He was averaging 10.9 yards per catch. He had 6 catches for 51 yards against Notre Dame, just 8.5 yards per catch.
This vaunted group of receivers came into the game averaging 15 catches per game for 253 yards per game and was averaging 16.5 yards per catch.
Against Notre Dame's secondary the USC receivers combined for 21 catches for just 177 yards per catch, good for just 8.4 yards per catch.
USC had thrown just 6 interceptions in 20 games under Riley coming into last night's game. Last night the Irish picked off 3 passes, marking on the second time a Riley offense had been picked off that many times.
The 11 tackles for loss tied for the most against a USC offense under Riley, and the 6 sacks were the most. Utah is the only team to have as many TFL's and more sacks against a USC offense, and they did that in last year's Pac 12 title game.
It was an all-around dominant performance for the Notre Dame defense. The game plan was excellent and Al Golden had consistent answers to whatever Riley tried to do. It was a master class for Golden and his staff. Defensive line coach Al Washington was intense on the sidelines all night long, and his unit matched that intensity with a brilliant performance. Mike Mickens' group continues to be brilliant and Chris O'Leary's much-maligned safety group had an impact night.
The Notre Dame defenders played with a chip on their shoulder last night. They were not intimidated by Williams or USC and they took the fight to the Trojans. They beat them up in the trenches and dominated the athletes, because Notre Dame's athletes are even better. The Irish corners let everyone know - again - that they are among the nation's best coverage duos, if not the best. The defensive line showed that when it gets turned loose it can take over a game (second time they've done it in three weeks).
It's been a long time since I've seen a Notre Dame defense dominate this kind of opponent in this manner, and it was a much needed performance after what was a rough three weeks. Now Notre Dame goes into the bye week with some much needed confidence and momentum.
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