Well, it seemed like it could happen until finally it didn’t. As Joel Klatt said on The Herd late last week, USC just isn’t built up front right now to handle Notre Dame in the trenches. With the Fighting Irish running 38 times for 258 yards and three rushing TD’s and the defense giving up 436 total yards it’s hard to argue. But this game was right there for Trojans, tied at 21-21 into the second half and only down by one score until almost the very end of the third quarter when Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard threw a 23 yard pass to Senior TE Mitchell Evans to go up 35-21. But even then, the Trojans came back two possessions later to close within a touchdown at 35-28. But back-to-back pick sixes with less than six minutes left in the game put a ribbon on an early Christmas gift for the Fighting Irish in a heart-breaking 49-35 loss in front of the Trojan faithful in the LA Coliseum on what had been a beautiful Southern California evening.
The inability to finish games has been a problem all year for the Trojans. They were up 24-20 into the 4th Qtr in their first loss of the year to Michigan. In their loss to Minnesota two weeks later they were up 17-10 at the end of the 3rd Qtr. The next week they were tied 30-30 with Penn State at the end of regulation and lost the game in overtime. The very next week they were up 28-22 in the 4th Qtr against Maryland and ended up losing 29-28. Well, you get the picture and for USC fans and boosters it’s been frustrating especially considering that Lincoln Riley was supposed to take us back to the promise land of football relevance and regularly compete for national championships. It was just two years ago, in Riley’s first year, that the Trojans finished the regular season at 11-1, losing only one game to Utah by one point, but beating Notre Dame in the Coliseum 38-27. In 2023 they were 7-5 in the regular season and this year it’s slipped to 6-6. At 25-13 overall up to now, Riley has the same exact record that Lane Kiffin did before being fired after losing his first two conference games in 2013.
Dylan Hernandez, a sports reporter for the Los Angeles Times, didn’t mince any words and is certainly not in the “glass half-full” camp when he wrote; “This season is officially worse than the last [as] USC [completed] its regular season with a 6-6 record and [is] probably destined for a minor bowl in a desert wasteland. Remember how an 8-5 season last year felt as if it was rock bottom? Well, things have unraveled at USC to the point where the infamous Clay Helton era, in retrospect, is starting to look half-decent. Once viewed as a savior, Riley has imprisoned USC in a cycle of mediocrity [and] his shortcomings have kept the Trojans from even dreaming of realizing their championship ambitions. His eight-figure annual salary pretty much guarantees [that] he won’t be fired anytime soon.” Former USC QB and Fox Sports Analyst Matt Leinart voiced his concerns on Social Media and wrote; “Finish 6-6 and just really have no clue what we are? Who we are? There’s no identity. We have good players. Need to recruit harder. As frustrated as anyone. Want to see USC back to being a contender. Don’t think we are close at the moment.”
For Notre Dame, Senior QB Riley Leonard connected on over 75% of his passes for 156 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 interception while also rushing 12 times for 50 yards and another score. Spreading the ball around to six different receivers multiple times it was Senior TE Mitchell Evans and Junior TE Eli Raridon who collected a TD each. On the ground it was Junior RB Jadarian Price and Sophomore Jeremiyah Love who led the way with 210 yards on 25 carries and a TD each. For USC, Sophomore QB Jayden Maiava was 27-of-49 for 360 yards, 2 interceptions, and 3 TD’s–all to Sophomore WR Ja’Kobi Lane with Sophomore WR Makai Lemon picking up the most yards with 133 on 9 receptions. On the ground Freshman RB’s Quinton Joyner and Bryan Jackson along with Senior Woody Marks combined for 187 yards on 22 carries, but it was Maiava who picked up both rushing TD’s.
USC had more 1st downs, more total yards of offense and were about ten percentage points better at converting third downs. But Notre Dame converted all three of their fourth down attempts to zero for the Trojans, had fewer penalties, converted a successful fake punt, and benefited to the tune of fourteen extra points as a result of the two pick sixes. For Notre Dame, they most certainly will get a spot in the 12 team playoff for the national championship. For the Trojans, except for a possible upcoming appearance in a minor bowl in Dylan Hernandez’s “desert wasteland,” they’re done but will meet the Fighting Irish again next year on the road in game three of their non-conference schedule to start the 2025 season.