Notre Dame holds on against USC, punches ticket to College Football Playoff with rivalry win

When No. 7 Notre Dame needed it most, the Fighting Irish secondary rose to the occasion.

Despite USC redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava gashing the nation’s top-ranked passing defense for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns, his two miscues in a 49-35 Irish victory Saturday gave away the game. In doing so, he allowed Notre Dame to punch their ticket to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

Maiava’s first dire mistake came with the Trojans down just a touchdown with under four minutes to play. Maiava targeted the same player he and the broadcast picked on the entire game, Christian Gray. The Irish sophomore had the last laugh by picking off Maiava and returning it 99 yards for a touchdown.

Gray’s score gave the Trojans time for another possession. Though Maiava marched down the field again, this time, graduate student safety Xavier Watts intercepted him in the end zone and took it the distance for another pick-six.

While Maiava added one last score with 13 seconds to go, his two late-game interceptions gave the Irish the runway to cap off the regular season with a win and clinch a spot in the postseason.

Notre Dame gained control early, but mistakes that would have felt familiar early in the season allowed USC to hang around.

The Irish began the game with a heavy dose of sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love, who carried five times for 37 yards on the opening drive. He punched it for with a one-yard touchdown, carrying multiple Trojans into the end zone with him as Notre Dame took a 7-0 lead.

After a USC punt, it looked like third-year head coach Marcus Freeman‘s group might stomp another opponent for 60 minutes. But on the first play of the second quarter, disaster struck. Senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas took a (clean) shot from redshirt senior Trojans cornerback Jacobe Covington after a short reception. The ball popped into the air, USC recovered and the Trojans scored five snaps later.

More wizardry from Love — who leaped clean over a defender for the second week in a row — and a perfectly thrown slot fade from senior Irish quarterback Riley Leonard to junior tight end Eli Raridon gave Notre Dame the lead back with 59 seconds remaining in the second quarter. It looked like the first half would end that way, Maiava had other plans.

Starting with a conversion on third-and-3, Maiava targeted Gray on four straight pass attempts. He went 3-of-3 for 56 yards and a pass-interference penalty. On the fourth try, Maiava found sophomore wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane for a 12-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14.

It looked like more of the same as the third quarter began, as Notre Dame and USC traded blows. With a 28-21 lead, the Irish turned back the clock to their Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois as Leonard under-threw a deep ball intended through graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell.

On ensuing possessions, though, Notre Dame’s big-time players made big-time plays.

USC faced a fourth-and-3 in Irish territory, and Trojans sophomore wide receiver Makai Lemon beat graduate student nickel back Jordan Clark off the line of scrimmage. Maiava lofted an accurate throw, but Watts came screaming in from center field to grab Lemon’s arms after the ball hit his hands and pick up a much-needed stop.

Three plays later, the Irish were in the end zone again.

Two of them were runs to junior running back Jadarian Price, who took over RB1 duties after Love suffered an apparent lower-body injury. He gained 35 yards on the second one, setting up the Irish with a chance to score.

Leonard then redeemed himself, fitting the ball in a tight window to senior tight end Mitchell Evans for a 23-yard touchdown. Notre Dame never gave up the lead from that point on.

Even though Maiava would make things interesting by hitting Lane for a 6-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the game, Gray’s and Watts’ pick-sixes put the game too far out of reach.

With the win, the Irish secured a spot in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, and Freeman secured his first 11-win season since taking over in South Bend. Notre Dame will get the week off before hosting a first-round game on Dec. 20 or 21.