What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 49-35 victory at USC
Notre Dame finished the regular season with 10 wins in a row after knocking off arch nemesis USC on Saturday 49-35 in a wild, back-and-forth contest.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about the Fighting Irish’s triumph against the Trojans, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Tim Hyde giving their instant reaction to the game in a YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player below.
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: How Notre Dame displayed again vs. USC this Marcus Freeman team is different
Marcus Freeman knew exactly how many days it had been since Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois and the final game of the Fighting Irish regular season, a rivalry road tilt at USC.
Eighty-four. He mentioned the number twice in the first two minutes of his postgame press conference. Then senior quarterback Riley Leonard brought it up during his own session with reporters at the L.A. Coliseum after he led Notre Dame to a 49-35 victory.
You know, just for good measure and all.
You know how many words were in the first three paragraphs of this column, from “Marcus” through “all”? Eighty-four. You can’t make that up. Maybe this Notre Dame football season is just written in the stars. Too good to be true.
We won’t know until at least the third week of December. That’s when the Irish will be competing in the College Football Playoff. They unofficially assured themselves of a home game in the first-round with their win over the Trojans, their 10th overall. They haven’t lost in, well, over 84 days.
The most impressive thing about this Irish run to the CFP is that it could have ended in any given week. If the same team that showed up against NIU ever surfaced again — against Louisville or Georgia Tech or, yes, even USC — Notre Dame would have suffered a second loss and would have been a long shot to be considered on selection day.
Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: Five thoughts—This Notre Dame football team is special
Think about everything Notre Dame went through this season.
NIU. Losing its starting left tackle and center, two best edge rushers and No. 1 cornerback/top NFL Draft prospect to season-ending injuries. Hell, the Irish began their “are you a serious team” litmus test by fumbling the opening kickoff.
Week 14 at USC was no different.
All-American graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III tried to give it a go but could not. Notre Dame’s best offensive player, sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love, suffered an apparent lower-leg injury in the third quarter and didn’t return. Its best unit, the vaunted pass defense, decided now would be a good time to turn into pudding. And through it all, the Irish never backed down.
Notre Dame is a balanced team, making game-defining plays on both sides of the ball. It earned every bit of its 11-1 record, winning road games against quality SEC, Big Ten and ACC (Georgia Tech) competition despite a lackluster overall schedule. And it is as resilient as any blue-and-gold group in recent memory.
“Leadership,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said when asked what allowed his team to win 10-straight games. “Great leadership from our captains, our players, our coaches. Belief. Trust in each other.”
That’s what this team will be remembered for, regardless of what happens in December. Here are four more thoughts on the 49-35 win.
Chris Arledge, WeAreSC: Drawing conclusions about the 2024 USC Trojans
For a brief moment, I thought it might really happen. I thought that the Coliseum ghosts might just rise up and ruin Notre Dame’s season. But then reality set in, and the familiar pattern took hold: USC played hard, stayed in the game, and then a devastating turnover ends the dream.
I don’t think I’ve ever followed a team that had so many late-game, back-breaking interceptions. I can say with confidence that it isn’t fun.
I will also concede that the first pick-six was an amazing play by the corner. Yes, it was underthrown and probably wasn’t thrown with enough juice to be a good back-shoulder fade. But that was one hell of a play by the corner. Seasons are often made by players making a huge play just when their team needs it. That happened for Notre Dame yesterday.
Let’s try to draw some tentative conclusions from what was one of the most disappointing football seasons I can remember.
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Let’s start with this: USC’s fans are awful. That was a terrible turnout for the biggest rivalry in college football and a top-five opponent. The seats were empty, and the empty seats were louder than most of the fans. I know this is LA, and I know LA fans are fickle. But this is embarrassing. It hurts the team by depriving them of the home-field advantage that almost every opponent has at their place, and it hurts recruiting. Lincoln Riley is clearly frustrated, and while I think his performance isn’t any better than the fans’, he’s right. USC needs to think seriously about what it can do to jumpstart a better game experience. The kids may like the DJ, but he’s not getting anybody else involved. Something needs to be done. The half-empty, quiet-as-a-library first quarter yesterday made me sad and angry.
Paolo Uggetti, ESPN: Marcus Freeman emotional as Notre Dame tops USC, seals CFP bid
LOS ANGELES — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman knows exactly how long ago it was that the Irish were ruing their shocking loss to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season.
84 days.
That number was at the top of Freeman’s mind Saturday as he smiled and basked in his team’s regular-season-ending 49-35 victory over USC, which all but secured a spot in the College Football Playoff for No. 5 Notre Dame.
“Sometimes you got to lose to gain,” Freeman said. “The greatest thing that happened to this program was a loss.”
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman
Opening statement from postgame press conference:
“Man, it was — that was a hard-fought victory. And they definitely earned it. They earned it. I’m proud of this group. It’s an honor to be a part of this football program, with these guys, with this coaching staff. To see where we were 84 days ago to where we’re at now, it’s a testament to the trust in the decisions that those guys in that locker room and the coaching staff and everybody that helps have made.
“This is what it’s all about, man. It’s the journey, right? There’s a journey, and you can’t let the highest of highs and lowest of lows deter you from what you need to do to reach your goals. So, it’s awesome.
“I’m excited. We’re going to enjoy this day. We’ll worry about the future later. I know people want to ask about the future, but let’s enjoy this victory in this rivalry game versus a really good USC team, which we knew going into the game they’re a good team. A really good team. So, proud of these guys. We’ll have a happy flight back home.”
USC head coach Lincoln Riley
Opening statement from postgame press conference:
“Just an excruciating loss. Really tough there at the end, just standing in here as all the guys came through, watching great Trojans like this guy right here (Jaylin Smith) come up that tunnel for the last time. There’s been so many guys here that have I think paved the way. They have invested in this program, they’ve shared in our journey to continue to build this thing, and I’m proud to have coached them, proud to have had these guys throughout this journey.
“It’s kind of a mixture of guys like Jaylin that have been here for a long time and some guys that chose to come end their careers here with us, but the appreciation for them is long-reaching. I told them in the locker room, as things go on and climbs and climbs, they’ve always got to look back on it and know that they were a part of it. And they were, it’s true.
“So appreciative, man. I’ve been appreciative to coach this team through this regular season. It’s been a really fun team to coach. We battled today like we have all year. We just didn’t play good enough obviously in the second half. Gave ourselves some chances right there at the end and tried to stay aggressive. And obviously some plays just didn’t go our way.
“But give credit to Notre Dame. It’s a good football team. It was a good football game. Proud of this team. We’ll regroup here, obviously get our bowl assignment, get into some of the development with our young guys and get ready here for the final game of the season.”
