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Notre Dame spoils USC's chance for a feel-good ending to a bad week

graham watson

All eyes might have been on USC this week, but Saturday belonged to Notre Dame.

The Irish used its defense late in the game to secure a 41-31 win against the Trojans and remain in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

USC came into South Bend looking for something positive after a week of being in the headlines because of the actions of a former coach who is now healing in rehab.

And for a brief moment it looked like the Trojans would get their feel-good moment.

After trailing 21-7, the Trojans rallied, and ended up tied with the Irish 24-24 at halftime.

In the second half, USC took a 31-24 lead, but that’s where its dominance ended. The Irish regained the form that made them so successful in the first half and dominated the Trojans in the fourth quarter.

The Irish scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed back-to-back interceptions off USC quarterback Cody Kessler to force the Trojans into a desperation drive late while down 10.

Kessler took and ill-advised sack and then a shovel pass to the middle of the field ran out the clock.

Notre Dame is now 4-2 against the Trojans under coach Brian Kelly.

Credit does go to USC for not folding amid its trying week. Former coach Steve Sarkisian reportedly showed up to a team meeting Sunday intoxicated, was placed on administrative leave, ultimately fired and checked into a rehabilitation center. All of those things could have caused the Trojans to not show up at all, but they competed hard against a team that was in better form.

Nevertheless, USC now has three losses on the year, including back-to-back against Washington and the Irish. The season isn’t a total loss, but it’s not the one the Trojans expected coming out of fall camp in August.

For more USC news, visit TrojanSports.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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