How to Watch USC Trojans vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Preview, Prediction, TV Channel

The No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to face the USC Trojans on Saturday, Nov. 30 in one of college football’s most storied rivalries. Kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on CBS. Preview and prediction.

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) drops back to pass against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish make the trip out west to face the USC Trojans on Saturday, Nov. 30 in one of college football’s most storied rivalries that began back in 1926. Kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is slated for 12:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on CBS. 

The “Jeweled Shillelagh” trophy is awarded annually to the winner and that program gets their logo put on the club: an emerald-adorned shamrock for Notre Dame and a ruby-encrusted Trojan head for USC. The game has been played every year since, except for a hiatus during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Nov 16, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) drops back to pass against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“It’s always an important game, it’s a rivalry game there’s a lot of history behind it,” said USC coach Lincoln Riley. “It’s two great programs, it’s obviously another one played in two iconic places, and I think when you come here, the history behind this game is so epic. Number one, I think it would be disrespectful to not be as ready as you possibly can be, coaches, players, everybody. The fact for us it’s our last game at the Coliseum, we got a lot of great Trojans on this team that’ll be their last game. 

“We got a chance to really close great with this three game stretch here at the end of the season and obviously a phenomenal opportunity to finish this thing the way we intend on finishing it. I love it, I love rivalry games, can’t wait for it to get here,” Riley said.

Saturday will be the 95th meeting between the two historic programs and the 50th anniversary of the Trojans comeback against the Irish in 1974. The Trojans were down 24-6 at halftime and preceded to score 55 points in less than 17 minutes on the game clock in the second half. Senior running back Anthony Davis scored four touchdowns and USC won the game 55-24. The Trojans went on to defeat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl and win the 1974 National Championship. 

USC has won each of its last two matchups with redshirt sophomore Jayden Maiava as the signal-caller, including a 19-13 win over their crosstown rivals, the UCLA Bruins this past weekend to become bowl eligible. It wasn’t a spectacular performance from Maiava, numbers wise, but the most important thing he did was take care of the football. A week after committing two turnovers against Nebraska, Maiava had zero against the Bruins, which will be essential again this weekend. 

Notre Dame presents arguably the toughest challenge of the season for the Trojans. After an upset loss to Northern Illinois on Sep. 7, the Irish have reeled off nine straight wins and have positioned themselves with a victory to be in the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame has outscored it’s opponents 136-31 in the three games in the month of November, including a 49-14 throttling over No. 19 Army last weekend. 

For the Trojans, a key element on Saturday will be red zone offense. Nine plays inside the five-yard against UCLA in the red zone resulted in nine points. The inability to score touchdowns down by the goal line kept the Bruins in the game for all four quarters. 

“We didn’t make plays and that’s on us too,” Riley said. “We all own in it, the calls, the coaching, we all own it. “We had some opportunities to make them but we gotta go make them. We got to coach better and execute better.”

While trying to execute in the red area was a concern last week, getting down their in itself may be a challenge for the Trojans against Notre Dame’s No. 4 ranked team defense. The Irish also rank No. 3 in the country in yards per play and have allowed just 15 touchdowns in the country, tied for the fourth fewest in the country. 

If there’s one area the Trojans offense can attack it’s the Irish run defense that is giving up 133.5 yards per game. A healthy dose of senior running back Woody Marks and sophomore Quinten Joyner can take a ton of pressure off Maiava as faces the No. 1 pass defense in the country. 

Defensively, USC has made massive strides under new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, holding opponents to 21.2 points per game, No. 32 in the country in 2024. A massive change from the 34.4 points per game they gave up in 2023, No. 118 in the country. Last season, USC was No. 116 in rushing defense compared to No. 43 in 2024. 

Prediction: Notre Dame is a 7.5-point favorite over USC, and I believe they will win the game and cover the spread. Notre Dame 34, USC 20. 

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