Notre Dame football fought hard but fell short in some areas, resulting in a 38-27 loss against rival Southern California. Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy candidate, was too much for Notre Dame’s defensive front in the loss. While the Irish were missing two cornerbacks in Cam Hart and Tariq Bracy, they weren’t impacted as much via the air as you’d anticipate from Williams and USC.
Notre Dame football: 3 lessons from the USC loss
In a bombastic tweet that was taken too literally, I declared that the Notre Dame defence was the worst I’d ever seen. That was obviously an exaggeration. What might not be the case is if I switched from tackling to defence. It was difficult to bring down players all night, and I’m not just talking about Caleb Williams. While he evaded our defensive line, the linebackers were unable to stop USC RB Austin Jones at the point of attack.
Isaiah Foskey, Jayson Ademilola, and Justin Ademilola combined for 14 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. Howard Cross, the team’s next closest defensive lineman in tackles, had two. It’s fantastic when your best guys turn up, but they expected a little more from you.
Notre Dame football: 3 lessons from the USC loss
The offence had been carried for much of the year by Notre Dame’s stellar rushing back trio. They’re still the best in the country, but they couldn’t get anything going against USC. The available holes were discovered and utilised virtually the entire night. With Mitchell Evans and Drew Pyne out, the running backs ended with 20 carries for 101 yards. Overall, pretty good. Outside of one huge error late in the game, the offence absolutely excelled through the air and Drew Pyne’s arm.