Both teams have had their chances to play spoiler in the past, and that’s exactly what USC will look to do this weekend. However, the Trojans provide a whole other element considering the state of this rivalry over the past few years. However, while this game will surely feed into the historic Notre Dame/USC rivalry, there’s much more on the line than a trophy, especially for an Irish team looking to improve their outside chances at the CFP.Īfter losing a close one on the road to Georgia, Notre Dame has rebounded quite nicely with convincing wins over Virginia and Bowling Green.

The Irish have now maintained possession of the coveted Jeweled Shillelagh for two straight years and would love nothing more than to keep their hands on it for yet another. USC is preparing for Coan, Buchner and Drew Pyne at quarterback, while also remaining wary of a Notre Dame run game that ranks 118th nationally with 97.3 yards per game.Despite entering as double-digit favorites, Notre Dame football will need to find success in a few areas if they hope to take down USC in South Bend. “A mixture of him with Tyler Buchner, I think both of them.” “Jack Coan continues to be the guy that we feel like gives us the best chance to win,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters Monday. But senior Jack Coan has started to distinguish himself, helping lead the Irish to a win over Virginia Tech before the Irish’s own bye last week. Like USC, the Irish have had some quarterback uncertainty this season, rotating between three different QBs. He moves really well for his size.” When Notre Dame has the ball “Usually bigger guys are probably a little stiffer, don’t move as well. “Just the way he gets around for his size is pretty impressive,” Slovis said of the 6-foot-4 Hamilton. The junior has three interceptions on the year and seven passes defended. Whoever plays quarterback, he will have to deal with Notre Dame All-American safety Kyle Hamilton. “We’ll put whoever out there that gives us the best chance to move the ball at that point and use our guys as best we can,” Harrell added. Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell has also suggested USC could use both quarterbacks once Dart is healthy, utilizing the freshman in short-yardage and goal-line situations as was the plan in Week 2 before Slovis gets hurt. But Williams didn’t rule out making Dart the starter at the last second, nor inserting the backup into the game if Slovis struggles. Junior Kedon Slovis is the expected starter at quarterback after Williams said Thursday that freshman Jaxson Dart (meniscus) still hadn’t been cleared to play. “So I think that would all be key with us moving forward.” “ a chance for all of us to unwind a little bit and see what we did wrong or right as far as self-scout on offense, defense and special teams,” Williams said. “Time will tell on Saturday,” USC defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said, “but physically, I think we’ll be much better than we’ve been a couple weeks ago.”Īfter the literal up-and-down, win-and-lose first six weeks of the season, the hope is the bye week provided a mental reset and USC can move forward with a little more consistency and stability, starting with the Irish. Tackling and pad level were areas of emphasis for the defense, for example. They tried to fix that during the bye last week, going back to the types of fundamentals you’d hope to have ironed out in spring, or at least fall camp. Halfway through a season marred by the firing of the team’s head coach and ugly, historic losses in the Coliseum, the Trojans haven’t played up to the standards of a rivalry between two of college football’s blue bloods. USC (3-3, 2-3 in Pac-12) will need any advantage it can get against the 14th-ranked Irish (5-1) this year. “You’re just so accustomed to it, it’s just the norm – you start tuning it out instead of it being there the first time when they’re playing it and you get in awe.” “It almost becomes when you get there and they’re playing it, you don’t even hear it,” USC interim head coach Donte Williams said. So USC tried to desensitize itself at practice this week before the flight to Indiana by blasting the audio it expects to hear at Notre Dame Stadium, including the Fighting Irish’s fight song. After last year’s game was canceled due to COVID-19 scheduling limitations – the first year the programs didn’t play since World War II – the battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh is back. The Trojans are shipping up to South Bend this week for the renewal of their 95-year rivalry with Notre Dame. When that wasn’t the case, the Trojans’ typical playlist was abandoned in favor of Irish rock band Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up to Boston.” LOS ANGELES - As USC practiced this week, fake crowd noise was pumped in over the speakers.

The jeweled shillelagh