Notre Dame Football: Reliving Pete Carroll’s Dominance Over Irish
It was a massive football news day Wednesday as word came out pete carroll was stepping down as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He led the Seahawks to a championship in Super Bowl 48 but before his run in the Pacific Northwest, Carroll oversaw a dynasty at USC.
And that dynasty came largely at the expense of Notre Dame. Sure he wasn’t exactly coaching against Ara Parseghian or Lou Holtz, but dominance is dominance.
The years from 2001-2009 aren’t particularly fun for Notre Dame fans to look back on but with Carroll stepping down let’s take a quick stride down memory lane and remember just how bad things were in this rivalry when he was leading USC.
2001: Notre Dame 27, USC 16
An ill-fated first half fake punt changed the tide of the 2001 meeting between Notre Dame and USC as Julius Jones and Carlyle Holiday combined for over 190 rushing yards to help the Irish to victory. It would be Notre Dame’s last over USC for the decade and final ever over Carroll.
2002: USC 44, Notre Dame 13
It was a coronation for Carson Palmer as his 425 passing yards and four touchdowns helped the Trojans to a dominating win over the Irish. USC’s defense, which was led by some safety with the last name Polamalu, held Notre Dame to four first downs the entire evening.
2003: USC 45, Notre Dame 14
The good news for Notre Dame was that they went blow-for-blow with USC for 10 minutes as the game was tied at 14 following an Anthony Fasano touchdown reception.
The bad news? USC outscored Notre Dame 31-0 the rest of the way.
2004: USC 41, Notre Dame 10
Notre Dame again started well against USC, jumping out to a10-3 lead four minutes into the second quarter. Unfortunately USC would outscore the Irish 38-0 to close the game and close the book on Tyrone Willingham’s time as Notre Dame head coach. Matt Leinart threw for 400 yards and five touchdowns in the blowout victory.
2005: USC 34, Notre Dame 31
One of the most famous games in the history of college football occurred when Pete Carroll brought his No. 1 USC squad to No. 9 Notre Dame in October of 2005. The upstart Irish, led by Charlie Weis and Brady Quinn took the lead late in the fourth quarter but a fourth-and-nine pass to Dwayne Jarrett helped set up the Trojans for the famed “Bush Push” play that will never be forgotten.
2006: USC 44, Notre Dame 24
Dwayne Jarrett saved his best for last against Notre Dame as he hauled in 132 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the USC blowout win. The Trojans jumped out to a 21-3 lead behind a pair of Jarrett scores and the Irish would never get it back closer than a 28-17 margin.
Carroll and USC would lose to UCLA the next week however, costing them a chance at a national championship.
2007: USC 38, Notre Dame 0
The only good thing about the 2007 meeting for Notre Dame was the throwback uniforms they wore commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1977 national championship team. USC outgained the Irish 462-165 in what was the sixth-straight series win for Carroll and the Trojans.
2008: USC 38, Notre Dame 3
USC did pretty much anything they wanted in the 2008 edition of the rivalry game as they outgained Notre Dame 449-91 and had 22 first downs while allowing the Irish to pick up just four. Mark Sanchez threw for 267 yards and Joe McKnight (RIP) ran for a 55-yard touchdown as Carroll and company took home their seventh-straight series win.
2009: USC 34, Notre Dame 27
After falling behind 34-14 early in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Clausen led an impressive comeback effort for the Irish as he connected with Golden Tate to get the Irish within a 34-27 margin with 7:28 remaining. A last minute drive ended in Notre Dame Stadium’s south end zone however as a Clausen pass intended for Duval Kamara fell incomplete as the receiver slipped coming out of his break.
It was Carroll’s eighth and final victory over Notre Dame.
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Record Winning Streak
Carroll and USC’s eight-straight wins over Notre Dame from 2002-2009 are the most by the Trojans in the long history of the rivalry. Notre Dame’s longest winning streak against USC came from 1983-1993 when the Irish won 11-straight before the ’94 contest ended in a tie.
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Coliseum Dominance
Pete Carroll going 8-1 over Notre Dame was impressive enough but how he did so, specifically in the Los Angeles Coliseum was even more impressive if you’re a Trojans fan.
USC outscored Notre Dame 167-50 at the Coliseum under Carroll, good for a 41.3-12.25 average score per game.
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Only Irish Coach to Beat Him
The only Notre Dame head football coach to ever beat a Pete Carroll-led USC team? Of course it was Bob Davie who led the Irish to a 5-6 mark in 2001 and was fired at season’s end.
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Points Per Game
It’s not breaking news to anyone that USC was great under Pete Carroll but during his time Notre Dame simply had no way of stopping the Trojans. If you take the 2001 game out of the equation (which is somewhat fair considering Carroll was six games into the gig), USC averaged 39.7 points per game against Notre Dame with them never scoring than 34 points in a game (twice – 2005, 2009).
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Especially Bad for Willingham
No Notre Dame coach had success against Pete Carroll (besides of course Bob Davie) but what Tyrone Willingham put up against the Trojans was borderline criminal. In three contests as Notre Dame’s head coach against USC, Willingham’s Irish squads were outscored 130-37 with USC having 83 first downs to Notre Dame’s 36 in those three games.
Carroll Over Notre Dame Totals: Dwayne Jarrett's Dominance
Perhaps no USC star shined brighter for Pete Carroll against Notre Dame than wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett. Jarrett hauled in 17 receptions for 335 yards and five touchdowns in three games against the Irish. It was his fourth down reception to extend the “Bush Push” game in 2005 that was his most memorable play in the series, however.
