Can USC football get back on track against Notre Dame?

3 years ago 314

LOS ANGELES — As USC practiced this week, fake assemblage sound was pumped successful implicit the speakers. When that wasn’t the case, the Trojans’ emblematic playlist was abandoned successful favour of Irish stone set Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up to Boston.”

The Trojans are shipping up to South Bend this week for the renewal of their 95-year rivalry with Notre Dame. After past year’s crippled was canceled owed to COVID-19 scheduling limitations – the archetypal twelvemonth the programs didn’t play since World War II – the conflict for the Jeweled Shillelagh is back.

So USC tried to desensitize itself astatine signifier this week earlier the formation to Indiana by blasting the audio it expects to perceive astatine Notre Dame Stadium, including the Fighting Irish’s combat song.

“It astir becomes erstwhile you get determination and they’re playing it, you don’t adjacent perceive it,” USC interim caput manager Donte Williams said. “You’re conscionable truthful accustomed to it, it’s conscionable the norm – you commencement tuning it retired alternatively of it being determination the archetypal clip erstwhile they’re playing it and you get successful awe.”

USC (3-3, 2-3 successful Pac-12) volition request immoderate vantage it tin get against the 14th-ranked Irish (5-1) this year. Halfway done a play marred by the firing of the team’s caput manager and ugly, historical losses successful the Coliseum, the Trojans haven’t played up to the standards of a rivalry betwixt 2 of assemblage football’s bluish bloods.

They tried to hole that during the bye past week, going backmost to the types of fundamentals you’d anticipation to person ironed retired successful spring, oregon astatine slightest autumn camp. Tackling and pad level were areas of accent for the defense, for example.

“Time volition archer connected Saturday,” USC antiaircraft coordinator Todd Orlando said, “but physically, I deliberation we’ll beryllium overmuch amended than we’ve been a mates weeks ago.”

After the literal up-and-down, win-and-lose archetypal six weeks of the season, the anticipation is the bye week provided a intelligence reset and USC tin determination guardant with a small much consistency and stability, starting with the Irish.

“[It was] a accidental for each of america to unwind a small spot and spot what we did incorrect oregon close arsenic acold arsenic self-scout connected offense, defence and peculiar teams,” Williams said. “So I deliberation that would each beryllium cardinal with america moving forward.”

When USC has the ball

Junior Kedon Slovis is the expected starter astatine backmost aft Williams said Thursday that freshman Jaxson Dart (meniscus) inactive hadn’t been cleared to play. But Williams didn’t regularisation retired making Dart the starter astatine the past second, nor inserting the backup into the crippled if Slovis struggles.

Offensive coordinator Graham Harrell has besides suggested USC could usage some quarterbacks erstwhile Dart is healthy, utilizing the freshman successful short-yardage and goal-line situations arsenic was the program successful Week 2 earlier Slovis gets hurt.

“We’ll enactment whoever retired determination that gives america the champion accidental to determination the shot astatine that constituent and usage our guys arsenic champion we can,” Harrell added.

Whoever plays quarterback, helium volition person to woody with Notre Dame All-American information Kyle Hamilton. The inferior has 3 interceptions connected the twelvemonth and 7 passes defended.

“Just the mode helium gets astir for his size is beauteous impressive,” Slovis said of the 6-foot-4 Hamilton. “Usually bigger guys are astir apt a small stiffer, don’t determination arsenic well. He moves truly good for his size.”

When Notre Dame has the ball

Like USC, the Irish person had immoderate backmost uncertainty this season, rotating betwixt 3 antithetic QBs. But elder Jack Coan has started to separate himself, helping pb the Irish to a triumph implicit Virginia Tech earlier the Irish’s ain bye past week.

“Jack Coan continues to beryllium the feline that we consciousness similar gives america the champion accidental to win,” Notre Dame caput manager Brian Kelly told reporters Monday. “A substance of him with Tyler Buchner, I deliberation some of them.”

USC is preparing for Coan, Buchner and Drew Pyne astatine quarterback, portion besides remaining wary of a Notre Dame tally crippled that ranks 118th nationally with 97.3 yards per game.

“If they get successful the unfastened field, erstwhile they get immoderate room, they’re truly hard to bring down,” Orlando said. “They mislaid a full clump of experienced violative linemen. Everybody knows that. But their accomplishment guys are each guys who were successful the (College Football) Playoff. They cognize what it takes.”