Notre Dame Offense Did What It Needed To Do Against USC

The Notre Dame offense still needs work but the unit did what was needed against USC

Notre Dame earned an impressive - and much-needed - victory this weekend when the Irish dominated USC by a 48-20 score. The Fighting Irish got their season back on track with the blowout victory.

The Irish defense continued its dominant season, but what we saw on Saturday night against USC was extra special. Notre Dame's offense came into the game dealing with major struggles, and the unit didn't put together the kind of performance many expected. USC's defense was brutalized by opponents coming into the game, and the Irish offense wasn't able to rip it up the way I hoped it would.

Notre Dame racked up just 251 yards of offense against USC, and the pass game remains a concern, with Sam Hartman throwing for just 126 yards on 20 attempts.

There is still plenty of work to be done, but the Notre Dame offense did what was needed against USC. The numbers aren't pretty and have caused some concern, but based on how the game played out the offense absolutely did what was needed to play its role in the big victory.

Notre Dame's total yards numbers are a bit skewed, as the offense averaged starting drives near midfield. Notre Dame's first drive started at the USC 12-yard line, it had another drive start at the USC 2-yard line, another began at the 50-yard line, and the last two drives of the game also started in USC territory.

Against Louisville, the Notre Dame offense failed to capitalize on good field position, and it was unable to take advantage of a defense that held the potent Cardinal offense to just seven first half points. Against USC the opposite story was true, and that played a huge role not just in the win big picture, but more specifically with how the defense played.

Notre Dame's defense gave the offense those short fields, and the offense took advantage and turned those turnovers into points. That was a huge part of the Irish victory. Xavier Watts picked off reigning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams on the first series of the game and returned the ball to the 12-yard line. Punching the ball into the end zone was far from a given, especially the way Notre Dame had been playing in recent games. 

Notre Dame had converted just four of its previous seven red zone trips into touchdowns, which coincided with its scoring woes that began against Ohio State. Against USC, however, the Irish got into the end zone when Hartman found Gi'Bran Payne in the flats for a wide open touchdown on a well designed running back screen.

Notre Dame's third series ended with points, as a tunnel screen to Chris Tyree and a reverse to Jordan Faison got the Irish into scoring territory. Spencer Shrader made his fourth straight field goal as the Irish extended their lead to 10-3. 

Notre Dame punted on its next possession, but the defense set up an easy score on the very next series when Watts picked off Williams for the second time and returned the pick all the way back to the 2-yard line. Notre Dame's offense needed just one play to punch it in the end zone, giving the Irish a 17-3 lead.

Notre Dame had scored on three of its five possessions. They turned both turnovers into touchdowns, punted twice and had a field goal drive.

Having a 17-3 lead didn't feel great against a player like Williams and an offense like USC's, but four plays into the next defensive series the Irish got pressure on Williams again and he forced a ball downfield. Star corner Benjamin Morrison came off his man and picked off the pass at midfield.

This was a big moment in the game. Notre Dame's offense was not in scoring territory and it needed to put the ball into the end zone. This could be the moment that turned what was still a competitive game into a rout. 

On the very first play Hartman finally got aggressive and hit Rico Flores Jr. up the right sideline for a 24-yard gain. Hartman then raced 12 yards to get the ball into the red zone. That is when Audric Estime and the offensive line took the drive over, as Estime went for five and 12 yards on back-to-back carries before punching the ball into the end zone from one yard out.

Just like that it's a 24-3 ball game.

The offense wasn't playing lights out football up to that point, but it was doing what it needed to do. Every time the defense gave them the ball they got touchdowns. The aggressiveness of the first two play calls after the Morrison interception was a positive sign. There was just 3:35 left in the half, so Notre Dame could have decided to be conservative, run the clock out and play for a field goal. Instead, the Irish were aggressive and went on the attack.

A pair of three-and-outs coming out of halftime were evidence that Notre Dame is still very much a work in progress on offense. Questionable decision making and the inability to really get a great push in the run game resulted in a pair of punts. That allowed USC to claw back. After forcing a punt on the first drive of the second half, the defense faltered a bit as USC was able to get first downs on a 1st-and-25 and a 2nd-and-20 en route to a touchdown that made it a 24-13 game.

The Irish were still in control, but there were still seven minutes left in the third quarter, which is plenty of time for an offense led by Williams and a group that came into the game scoring 51 points per game.

Notre Dame's offense needed to respond, and they did just that. 

On the next drive the offensive line started to lean on USC a bit, as Estime went for seven, four and three yards. Hartman hit tight end Mitchell Evans for a chain-moving play and the Irish got into USC territory. Notre Dame's offense had been far, far too conservative in recent games, but with the game once again in doubt the offense went big.

Hartman executed a play-action drop, the offensive line gave him plenty of time and Chris Tyree smoked USC nickel back Jaylin Smith on a post route. Hartman made the throw, Tyree made the catch and 46 yards later the game was all but over as the Irish jumped out to a 31-13 lead.

Notre Dame's next drive began at their own 7-yard line, and it ended with a punt. Despite the lack of points, the Irish achieved two first downs did their part in flipping the field. The ensuing punt was fielded at the USC 18-yard line.

The special teams didn't do its part, as punt returner Zachariah Branch returned the punt 60 yards to set up a USC touchdown. The good news is the special teams stepped up and got that touchdown back as running back Jadarian Price returned the ensuing kick 99 yards for a back breaking touchdown.

When Notre Dame's offense got back on the field it was a 38-21 game and they had the ball at the USC 14-yard line. It was ice the game time. The offense ended the drive with a field goal to make it a 41-20 game and the next time they got on the field it converted a first down and then took a knee for the win.

Was it a sexy win? No.

Did Notre Dame dominate the struggling USC defense? No.

Are there still serious questions about the pass game and the ability of the offensive line to dominate the run game? Yes.

Those questions will need to be addressed during the bye week, but the fact is the Irish were aggressive when they needed to be against USC, they played clean football and they complemented the brilliant defensive performance perfectly. The end result is Notre Dame dominating USC and getting their season back on track.

That is a step in the right direction for the Irish offense, and a giant leap forward for the Notre Dame football team.

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