The University of Notre Dame football team (11-1) defeated Southern Cal (6-6) 49-35 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, winning its 10th straight game and putting the program in a strong position to compete to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff. A back-and-forth battle in college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry was punctuated late in the game by two big plays by the Notre Dame defense.

Sophomore cornerback Christian Gray, who battled with the talented Trojan receiver group all afternoon, intercepted a pass at the one-yard line and returned it 99 yards to give his team a lead with 3:39 left to take the lead 42:28. Southern Cal pushed down the field again, but the Irish defense stepped up once again with a perfectly timed blitz that forced a desperate dive into the end zone that Xavier Watts fended off and traveled 100 yards for another score.

That was 199 yards of interception returns in less than two minutes that sealed the victory for Notre Dame, and a perfect end to the game for the Irish defense, which uncharacteristically gave up 557 yards and 360 passing yards to the Trojans.

On the offensive side of the ball, Notre Dame only turned the ball over twice and managed over 400 yards of offense. Riley Leonard completed 17 of 22 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns while adding 50 yards rushing along with Jadarian Price (112 yards) and Jeremiyah Love (99 yards). Notre Dame’s 259 rushing yards are the most against Southern Cal since the team posted 308 rushing yards in 2019, and the most at the Coliseum since 1996 (the Irish ran for 260 yards in a 27-20 loss).

Irish tight ends Mitchell Evans and Eli Raridon both caught touchdown passes from Leonard, who hit eight different receivers.

The 84 points scored by both teams represent the most in the history of the Jeweled Shillelagh rivalry, which dates back to 1926.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Southern Cal pushed into Notre Dame territory and got two first downs on its first drive before getting a stop from the Irish defense. On second down, Christian Gray broke up a slant pass and then buried an SC pass receiver on a fourth down attempt for a single yard to give the offense the ball at its own 28-yard line.

Jeremiyah Love set the tone for the Irish on the first drive. Love ran hard and ran through Trojan tacklers, rushing for 36 yards on four carries in the opening stanza. He started the drive with 19 yards, then Leonard found Kris Mitchell for a first down on third-and-4 yards. Another hard run by Love gave the Irish a first down inside the 10. Leonard held up the middle to the one-yard line and Love finished the drive with a one-yard plunge.

Leonard Moore made the next defensive stop for the Irish on a pass breakup in the third. Notre Dame gained eight yards on the first play to Jayden Thomas and went back to him on the next play, but he was hit from behind, fumbled straight into the air and Southern Cal recovered at the Notre Dame 37.

The Trojans capitalized on the momentum and scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak that came close to a stop by the Irish defense but turned out to be a late touchdown call by the officials.

Notre Dame appeared to stall on their next drive, but a perfectly executed fake punt set up Tyler Buchner connecting with Mitchell Evans for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. On third-and-long, Leonard found Evan again for nine yards, then Faison for an easy conversion on fourth down.

Love then dashed 19 yards down the left side to get into the red zone, but the drive stalled there when a pass and a quarterback draw allowed for a short field goal attempt. Mitch Jeter pushed the kick to the right and the game remained tied at 7-7.

The Irish defense quickly gained a three-pointer. Gabriel Rubio sacked the quarterback on the first play, then Leonard broke up another second down pass and completed the tackle with a screen pass well in front of the marker on third down.

Notre Dame moved the ball across midfield and faced a four-and-one just outside SC’s 40-yard line. Leonard fought for the first down and made it 3-3 on the fourth down of the first half. A tripping call to SC added yards, then Love put on another show with a screen pass, leaping over a Trojan defender for a 20-yard gain to the 12-yard line.

Leonard then found Eli Raridon wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Irish a 14-7 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as the Trojans crossed the field in just 31 seconds and tied the game with a 12-yard touchdown throw just before halftime.

Notre Dame received the ball early in the second half and wasted no time in regaining the lead. Love gained 10 on the first play, then on the third and fourth plays found Leonard Mitchell for 19 yards. After Love took a four-run win and took a break, Jadarian Price came in and, behind blocks from Billy Schrauth and Anthonie Knapp, burst through right-center and outran the Trojan defenders for a 36-yard touchdown run.

The back and forth continued as SC responded with a goal attack of their own. The Trojans marched 77 yards in eight plays, capped by another quarterback sneak for the touchdown.

It was time for the Irish to respond, and they did so with sensitivity. Love took a short pass and made it 17 yards, causing two SC defenders to miss. However, the spectacular Irish running back was injured on that play and did not return to the game. Price then rushed for four yards and added 15 yards on a personal foul penalty against the Trojans. On the next play, Leonard scrambled 24 yards to the four-yard line. Price got two yards, then Leonard got the last two with a quarterback power run behind Raridon’s block to give the Irish a 28-21 lead.

On the Trojans’ next attack, the defense earned its first stop of the second half. After a first down, Drayk Bowen sniffed a run play on third-and-long to stuff the SC runner and force a punt.

Notre Dame appeared to be on the right track on the first play when Price broke through the middle for 18 yards. On the next play, Leonard looked deep and subdued his intended target for an interception that was returned to the Notre Dame 45-yard line.

The Irish needed another stop and earned one on the next Trojan drive. It was another fourth down attempt as Jack Kiser and Joshua Burnham put pressure on the quarterback. A downward swing appeared to be intercepted by the SC receiver, but All-American safety Xavier Watts was there and provided a big pass breakup. The red-hot Notre Dame offense had the ball back.

Price gained four times on the first play and then found a huge hole behind Pat Coogan and Billy Schrauth for 35 yards to the SC 23-yard line. Leonard then stepped into the pocket and threw a perfect pass to Mitchell Evans at the pylon. The senior tight end pulled the pass for a great diving catch and touchdown that gave the Irish a 35-21 lead.

Go up and get it big boy ☘️#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/YWWCBpmKQ9

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 30, 2024

A big pass breakup on a third-and-long play by Gray, with pressure on the quarterback’s face from freshman defensive end Bryce Young, gave the ball back to the Irish. Unfortunately, the Irish were unable to move forward and fell back to the Trojans.

Southern Cal got the ball into the red zone after two big pass plays, including a 50-50 possession that the Trojan receiver won inside the five-yard line. Three plays later, SC scored on a six-yard touchdown pass to cut the Irish’s lead to seven points.

Notre Dame failed to move the ball on its next drive and had to punt the ball away with just under six minutes left. The Irish got a great punt from James Rendell as a 60-yard drive pushed SC back to their own 16-yard line.

The Trojans quickly drove the ball into the red zone, helped by another 50-50 possession on third down. Southern Cal attempted another such pass toward the end zone a few plays later, but Christian Gray ran the ball perfectly, intercepted the pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown that gave the Irish a 42-28 lead. The incredible play was the longest in program history, comparable to Luther Bradley’s 99-yard interception return against Purdue in 1975.

This record didn’t last long. In a desperate attempt to get back into the game, the Trojans drove to the Notre Dame 12-yard line, but the Irish held them off with a fourth down attempt. Notre Dame blitzed and forced a missed throw that was intercepted by Xavier Watts in the end zone, and he easily returned the ball down the same sideline as Gray had just minutes earlier for a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown .

Southern Cal scored a meaningless touchdown in the final seconds of the game, but the Irish left the field triumphant with a 49-35 victory.