USC moved one step closer to the College Football Playoff with a win over Notre Dame on Saturday night. tajwar002 breaks down the win:
For the first time since 2016, USC notched a win against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in a comfortable 38-27 victory. The Trojans had been routinely outclassed by their rivals in four straight matchups before flipping the script in Saturday's game at the Coliseum, as they jumped out to an early lead and never gave it back. The USC offense scored with ease on its opening drive, marching down the field for a touchdown as Caleb Williams confidently managed the possession.
USC's defense locked in on stopping Notre Dame's potent run game early, smothering the them at the line of scrimmage with regularity as the Trojans held the Irish to just 37 yards on 3.5 yards per carry in the first half. Though the Trojans had some odd miscues on both sides of the ball early, the dominance of Williams and the defensive front helped USC take a 17-7 lead into halftime.
The defense struggled more in the second half, particularly against tight end Michael Mayer, but USC's offense kept rolling on the back of fantastic rushing production from Austin Jones and continued wizardry from its quarterback. Williams made a statement in his path towards the Heisman trophy, notching three rushing touchdowns and completing nearly 82% of his passes on the night as he made one spectacular play after another.
The Trojans closed out the game comfortably, never allowing the Irish to bring the deficit to less than 10 points after halftime. USC's win puts it squarely in position for a College Football Playoff berth given the losses by LSU and Ohio State earlier in the day. One more win in the Pac-12 Championship game next week should be enough to secure a spot in the final four for the Trojans.
His throw gave Tahj Washington a chance to reach the football for a touchdown, forcing the defender to commit a holding penalty and push USC onto the doorstep of the end zone. He capped the drive with a 6-yard rushing touchdown on a read-option, securely putting the Trojans ahead by 10 points just before the half.
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