USC Trojans preparing for 'very good' Notre Dame team

USC's beleaguered defense will need to stop Notre Dame's run game to have a chance on Saturday

After a rough start to the season, No. 15 Notre Dame is on a roll.

The Fighting Irish have won five consecutive games, scoring 35 or more in each of those wins. They roll into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday for a game with wide-ranging implications against No. 5 USC.

Rivalry games in college football always have the potential to be very close, even when one team is considered to be better than the other.

Notre Dame is a team that hasn’t been talked about a ton this year. After Brian Kelly departed to take the head coaching job at LSU, the program was expected to take a bit of a step back. After starting 0-2 with a loss at home to Marshall, the Irish were written off by many people.

Then, another home loss to Stanford, who is now 3-8, made Notre Dame irrelevant in the college football landscape.

However, the Irish have steadily climbed back up the ladder and into the top 15. Even without Brian Kelly drawing up the Xs and Os this year, Notre Dame has been bringing in lots of talent year after year, and much of that still remains in the building. Losing quarterback Tyler Buchner for the season was a tough blow for this team and has really limited what they’re able to do offensively.

Still, the Irish have committed to their identity as a team and lean into the things they do well. This is a big, physical team that likes to run the ball and plays stingy defense. In the trenches, this team is still among the elite in terms of size and talent.

“Yeah, they're definitely a bigger team. They have a lot of guys, big tight end, big linemen and physical backs, and we're gonna have to be just as physical. Definitely gonna have to tighten the hatches and solidify our run game and things like that.”

Notre Dame runs for nearly 200 yards per game, and allows the 16th-fewest yards per game to opponents in all of college football. On top of that, they’re getting hot at the right time and firing on all (remaining) cylinders ahead of a matchup they’re gonna bring their A-game to.

“They’re good. I mean, they haven't given up 400 yards this year. That’s hard to do in college football. They've been good on third down. They’ve got good players at all levels. You know, you can tell they've recruited there for many years, and they've built a talent base, and that shows up right?” Lincoln Riley said.

“There's a lot of talented guys on that field, and then when the backups come in, there's still a lot of talented guys on that field. They've done a nice job. They've had a really good defensive year; I don't see just a ton of weaknesses with the group. I mean they've got guys who can rush the passer. They've played well on the secondary, they've intercepted balls, and they’ve been good on third down. They’re a good defense, they’re a challenging defense, the margins are thin with a group like that, and we’ve gotta execute at a high level.”

Offensively, this is a different challenge than the Trojans have faced this year, and running the ball might become a bit more difficult due to Notre Dame’s physicality, but USC should be able to put points on the board regardless.

Star receiver Jordan Addison is looking forward to the challenge presented by this matchup. “They got some solid DBs, and they all do a good job running to the football. What I noticed is their DBs do a good job of tackling in space, so it's gonna be a good challenge for us,” he said.

Addison also expected Mario Williams to return to his usual form after getting his legs under him in the UCLA game coming off an injury. “I feel like he’s gonna have a [breakout] game because he got to get his feet wet last week, and I know he didn't do as much as he wanted to, so he’s gonna be a little bit more hungry.”

Notre Dame is certainly going to be fired up for this one. It’s a rivalry game and a chance for a team that’s had an underwhelming season to knock off a USC team that’s close to its first College Football Playoff berth. Pair that fire with the sheer talent on Notre Dame’s roster, and you get a dangerous Week 13 opponent.

“Respect every opponent. Every team only gets 12 opportunities. You train all year, and there's an army of dudes who want to come in here and kick your butt every week, so you gotta respect everybody,” Nick Figueroa said at practice Tuesday.

On the flip side, USC is also clicking and getting healthy at the right time. Riley is ready to see what his team is all about in its last regular season matchup ahead of the Pac-12 championship game.

“That's the plan,” he said when asked about USC hitting its full stride. “I think we did some things the other night and then the last couple [weeks] that get you pretty excited about where we're headed. Yeah, I mean this is kind of what you gear up for right? It's gonna take our best on all sides throughout this closing stretch and this weekend.”