Two pick-sixes in the final four minutes by Christian Gray respectively. The win was the 10th in a row for the Irish and ended a modest two-game winning streak for the Trojans.

Gray’s interception with 3:39 left came at Notre Dame’s one-yard line and Southern Cal was able to tie the game. Gray managed to fight his way down the sideline and score a 99-yard return. On the next series, Watts intercepted a pass three yards deep in the end zone and managed to beat Gray’s effort by one yard to clinch the game.

Below are some of the key aspects of winning:

Deliver the first blow

Notre Dame’s vaunted defense watched Southern Cal get past midfield on the game’s first drive before stopping the Trojans on downs. That gave the Irish the ball at their own 28, from where they mounted a 13-play drive that lasted over seven minutes and ended with Jeremiyah Love pushing his way into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead. lead ensured.

Love’s aggressive running approach was particularly evident on this drive, as the running back gained 19 yards on Notre Dame’s first offensive play. About half of that yardage came on his second attempt, which he demonstrated again later in the series with a nine-yard run and touchdown.

Back and forth battle

Down to the final pair of standout defensive players, Notre Dame and Southern Cal were tied for most of the contest. The Irish scored their only goal of the first quarter on a short run by Love, and the Trojans tied that score three minutes into the second quarter. Before halftime. Notre Dame would take another seven-point lead, but then USC tied it again.

The third quarter was a similar story: The Irish took the first kickoff of the second half and marched 75 yards in six plays, giving them a 21-14 lead. The Trojans immediately responded with an eight-play drive that covered 77 yards, once again breaking the deadlock. Until Gray’s pick-six, Southern Cal was poised for a fourth tie in the game.

On the way to the playoffs

A strong ground game is important, especially late in the season, and Notre Dame has once again delivered an outstanding performance in this area. The Irish finished the game with 258 rushing yards, led by Jadarian Price with 111 yards on just eight carries. Price’s 36-yard scoring run in the second quarter was part of a performance in which he averaged 9.3 yards per carry.

Love finished the game with 99 yards on 13 carries and likely would have surpassed Price’s total, but an injury in the third quarter kept him on the sidelines for the remainder of the contest. Riley Leonard, as did Price and Love, scored with a rushing touchdown and finished the game with 50 yards, 153 throws and two scores.

Costly mistakes

Southern Cal’s ability to stay at Notre Dame was due in part to a few unfortunate mistakes during the contest. After taking an early lead, the Irish allowed the Trojans a first down before forcing a punt. But on the first play of the second quarter, Leonard’s 14-yard completion to Jayden Thomas ended in disaster when Thomas fumbled and Southern Cal needed just 37 yards to tie the game.

The Trojans’ next two points were aided by two pass interference calls against Gray. The first came in the final minute of the first half when Gray was stopped near the goal line, giving Southern Cal a first down at the Irish 12. Southern Cal converted that mistake into six points on the next play. Gray’s second interference call came on the Trojans’ first drive after halftime, with USC needing just four plays to tie the game for the third and final time.

Delivered in clutch

Just looking at the numbers shows that Notre Dame gave up 35 points and allowed Southern Cal to gain 557 yards of total offense. However, the fact that he delivered when it counted was demonstrated not only by the dangerous goals from Gray and Watts, but also by the Irish defensive performance on crucial downs.

Notre Dame stopped the Trojans seven times on 12 third-down attempts and, more importantly, made three stops on three fourth-down attempts that resulted in two Notre Dame touchdowns. In the latter category, opponents had converted 12 of 32 attempts on fourth down heading into this game.

Next

Notre Dame now waits to find out what their fate will be in the playoffs, with victory undoubtedly securing a home game against an unknown opponent. Ohio State’s blowout loss to Michigan on Saturday raises the possibility of Notre Dame moving as high as No. 5 in the final rankings. However, the actual selection will not be announced until Sunday, December 8th.