The five plays that loomed large in Notre Dame’s 31-16 win over USC

During the course of every football game, there are plays that stand out that make or break a team. Three to five seconds every game that can completely change the outcome. For Notre Dame and their 31-16 win over visiting USC, it was some good, and a little bad. Find out which five plays decided Notre Dame’s win over the Trojans.

1st quarter, 2:02 on the clock

A pass to Drake London, Kyle Hamilton moves over to defend the pass, losses his footing and hurt’s his knee. It didn’t look good, Hamilton wasn’t able to put any weight on his leg and was carried off the field. This injury would loom large as Hamilton is one of the best players regardless of position in the country. Hopefully it isn’t anything serious, but we will find out sometime early next week.

2nd quarter, 15:00 on the clock

Defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa comes off the right side and puts pressure on USC quarterback Kedon Slovis. Panic ensures and Solvis makes a bad decision, throws towards Bo Bauer and the linebacker makes him pay. Bauer picks off the pass, runs 79-yards the other way putting the Irish in scoring position and they would get three points out of the takeaway.

3rd quarter, 14:32 on the clock

Kurt Hinish has struggled to stay healthy and once again he went down. The Irish are extremely think at defensive tackle and Hinish has played a big role in the defense this year. Losing him for an extended amount of time could prove to be costly like Hamilton. Yes, USC would miss a field goal on this drive, but later they’d score two quick touchdowns and not having the big man in the middle hurt.

3rd quarter, 2:51 on the clock

The Irish just ripped off a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown scoring drive that essentially put the game away. The drive took 5 minutes and 17 seconds, chewing up the clock and making a Trojan comeback just that more difficult. A great drive, capped by a Kyren Williams TD run, was a very big drive for the Irish and pushed their lead to 24-3.

4th quarter, 4:52 on the clock

The Trojans had just cut the Irish lead to 24-16 and needed an answer. That came in the form of another long drive, this one spanning 8-plays and covering 86-yards. This time it was quarterback Tyler Buchner making the big play, a three-yard touchdown run that sealed the deal for the Irish.

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