Notre Dame-USC: Weekly check-in with powerhouse Irish rival
Every college football fans knows you can’t tell the history of college football without discussing both Notre Dame and USC. It just so happens that this year’s Notre Dame-USC game has the potential to be the biggest between the two since at least 2005 and perhaps even longer than that.
Both teams are currently 3-0 and have some tough opponents before the October 14 meeting, but I feel safe in saying both sides of the rivalry are hoping for the other to be unbeaten when the matchup takes place.
We’re again checking in with the Trojans this week as Matt Zemek, the editor of Trojans Wire, was kind enough to update us on the 3-0 Trojans.
Is USC a championship-level program right now?
We all know what a championship program looks like. You have seen it with Notre Dame in 1988, and you saw multiple Notre Dame teams reach the playoff with a toughness which was unmistakable. The 2012 team which reached the BCS National Championship Game was unflappable in tense, stressful situations.
This USC team is beginning to show a better attitude. The 49-3 first half against Stanford was obviously impressive, but last year’s USC defense would have allowed three or four second-half touchdowns and coasted home with a lot of sloppy and inadequate plays. This defense didn’t allow a touchdown until under four minutes remained in regulation. That’s a definite increase in pride and accountability. It is certainly something for the coaches to build on as the season goes along.
USC has beat up bad teams
Does USC look like a championship team, or are the Trojans’ opponents simply horrible? The Nevada team USC beat in Week 1 got POUNDED by Idaho at home. The game wasn’t even close. Idaho 33, Wolf Pack 6. What USC did against Nevada is hard to value. If a good team plays against a bunch of ghosts, does it mean anything?
More on USC's opponents to date
Hawaii struggled with Albany this past weekend, which certainly casts Stanford (also a future Notre Dame opponent) in a different light. That Hawaii-Albany game magnified how little value one can assign to Stanford’s win over Hawaii. I thought Hawaii, by playing Vanderbilt on fairly even terms (if you look at total yards and other stats, that game was not lopsided), might have been a semi-decent team. Obviously, I was wrong … and that flowed into my appraisal of Stanford heading into the USC game. Stanford looked atrocious. Woof. USC might have looked great, but the caliber of opponent makes it hard to truly assess where USC stands.
USC's star freshman
Caleb Williams is the best player in the country, but Zachariah Branch is making it impossible to ignore him. The freshman has unreal speed and open-field instincts. He’s a natural. Notre Dame and anyone else who plays USC ths year cannot punt the ball to him, period. Punts have to be fair catchable or out of bounds. If Branch rips off a kick return in a big game, that’s seven fewer points Caleb Williams has to worry about scoring. Branch, if he can evolve as a receiver, could give USC the Jordan Addison-level replacement the Trojans haven’t yet found this season. USC fans are in love with him, but national observers might still be focused on Caleb. Keep an eye on Branch, who (by the way) doesn’t want to be called Zach. It’s Zachariah.
USC's Remaining September Schedule
By playing in Week 0, USC is getting their first of two bye weeks this season before their final Pac-12 run heats up. Next Saturday, USC takes on Arizona State in Tempe at 10:30 p.m. ET. That comes before what is setting up to be quite the showdown in Boulder as USC will be at Colorado on Sept. 30.
