On a rainy night in South Bend, the now 12th-ranked Fighting Irish stormed past rival USC 34-24. With the longstanding and only intersectional rivalry in danger of not being extended in the current college football environment, the passion put on display by both sides made clear how much this game mattered to the players. The same can be said for a raucous fanbase. Notre Dame has a lot to celebrate following its victory, but there are a few things the Irish need to hone before their upcoming matchup against Boston College — they do not want a reminder of 1993 on Saturday.
Stock up: Offensive line depth
The Irish lost expected standout sophomore right guard Charles Jagusah to a broken arm over the summer, and starting junior center Ashton Craig unfortunately suffered a season-ending knee injury against the NC State Wolfpack on Oct. 11.
Freshman guard Guerby Lambert has played well in place of Jagusah, and sophomore Joe Otting shone in his first career start at center in place of Craig against the Trojans. On Notre Dame’s second offensive play, Otting made a key lead block to help spring junior running back Jeremiyah Love’s 63-yard run. Otting and the rest of the unit dominated the Trojans as the Irish ran for a season-high 306 yards and three touchdowns.
Unfortunately, Notre Dame’s depth will be further tested in the next few weeks, as junior captain and left guard Billy Schrauth hurt his knee and is out for at least the next three weeks. Sophomore Sullivan Absher is expected to start in his place.
Stock up: Interior defensive line depth
The defensive line also shone against USC despite being shorthanded, as senior tackle Gabriel Rubio sat out due to an elbow injury. The Trojans entered the contest averaging 227 yards per game on 6.4 yards per carry, but the Irish bottled up the USC ground game and made its prolific offense one-dimensional. USC managed only 68 yards on the ground on 2.3 yards per tote.
Starting in place of Rubio, senior Jason Onye (four tackles) played his best game of the season, and USC transfer Elijah Hughes disrupted his former teammates with consistent penetration. The Irish hope to get Rubio back before the end of the season. In the interim, the unit has elevated its play.
Stock up: Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price
It is hard to argue that the standout running back tandem of Love and Jadarian Price could possibly improve its stock, but their performance against the Trojans approached legendary status. Both put their names in the Irish record books.
Love shredded the Trojans on 24 carries for 228 yards, the most ever by an Irish running back in hallowed Notre Dame Stadium history. He broke off nine carries of 10 yards or more and scored a touchdown.
For all of Love’s heroics, it was Price who had the game’s biggest play. After USC grabbed momentum and a 24-21 lead with 4:32 left in the third quarter on a 59-yard touchdown pass and successful two-point conversion, Price took the ensuing kickoff and raced 100 yards for a touchdown to put the Irish back on top for good. Price became the first player in Notre Dame history with multiple kick return touchdowns of 100 yards, as he did so earlier in the season against Purdue. Even though Love grabs most of the national headlines, Price takes a backseat to no running back; he also could garner All-American recognition as a returner.
Stock down: CJ Carr and goal line execution
The USC defense targeted freshman quarterback CJ Carr with its game plan by keeping two safeties back for much of the game, and there were few explosive passing plays because of it. Among many inaccurate passes, Carr’s worst moment came late in the second quarter on third and goal from the two-yard line, when he threw an interception after 15 seconds of scrambling chaos. On first and second down, Love was stuffed on two runs into the teeth of the defense.
Short-yardage play calls continue to be subpar. While he is the best running back in the country, Love always receives the ball in a predictable fashion; perhaps bring in Price for a two-running back look to make the defense more indecisive.
As for Carr, his inconsistency was understandable, given that he is learning on the job. It is part of the natural progression for a quarterback, especially in big-game settings. With his abilities and his commitment to improvement, his growing pains will benefit him in the long run.
Stock down: Kicking game
Unfortunately, kickers are mainly mentioned when they fail. But senior Noah Burnette’s missed extra point and missed field goal and freshman Erik Schmidt’s two out-of-bounds kickoffs could have been costly in the Irish win. Maybe it was the rainy weather, remnants of Burnette’s hip injury or even a holder issue — whatever it was, it needs to be corrected before Saturday. The Irish likely will need to rely on Burnette’s and Schmidt’s legs at some point in a high-leverage spot in order to go on a playoff run.
