LIVE: Notre Dame uses explosive second half in 49-35 win against USC

Notre Dame pushes playoff ticket

Notre Dame a final knee in this one and finishes off a 49-35 win against the USC Trojans. The Irish used a 21-7 scoring margin in the third quarter and two interception return touchdowns in the fourth to turn a 14-14 score at halftime into a lopsided win.

Lane gets in again

Ja’Kobi Lane adds his third touchdown of the game as Maiava connects with him for an 8-yard score with 13 seconds remaining. It’s 49-35 Notre Dame as this game hasn’t been in doubt for a while.

Notre Dame defense pouring it on

Maiava throws his second pick-six of the day as Xavier Watts steps in front of a floated fourth-down toss to the endzone and returns it 100-yard for a touchdown. Notre Dame leads 49-28 with 1:18 remaining.

There’s the back-breaker

All year the Trojans have lost games with back-breaking second-half interceptions. Maiava just threw one to Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray who beat Kyron Hudson for the ball on the outside. Gray returned it 99 yards for a touchdown and Notre Dame pushes its lead back to 14 with 3:39 left to play. It’s 42-28 Notre Dame.

Trojans driving with two big-time plays

USC gets huge back-to-back plays from Duce Robinson to go up over a defensive back along the sideline for a 22-yard gain, and then Quinten Joyner to spin out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage and escape for 23 yards down the field. There’s a timeout on the field with 4:14 left and USC at the Notre Dame 21-yard line.

USC gets the stop

The Trojans gave up a big first down on a penalty against Jacobe Covington but USC comes right back to force a punt three plays later when Greedy Vance is all over a Notre Dame receiver on a third-down incompletion. The Trojans take over at their own 16-yard line with 5:47 remaining in the game trailing 35-28.

Lane gets No. 2

Ja’Kobi Lane beats Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray again as Maiava connects for a 6-yard touchdown. It’s Lane’s second catch and second touchdown of the day. USC cuts the Irish lead to 35-28 with 8:43 remaining in the game and the Trojans need another big defensive stand.

Notre Dame punts for first time today

Notre Dame ran a fake punt earlier in the day but the Irish just hit their first punt of the game with 11:52 remaining in the fourth quarter. Kameryn Fountain records the first sack of the day for the Trojans on the third down play. USC will take over at the Notre Dame 45-yard line following the defense’s first three-and-out of the game. The Trojans need to get the offense moving again as they trail 35-21 with time ticking away.

Irish take advantage

Notre Dame goes into the endzone again as Leonard finds tight end Mitchell Evans for 23 yards. USC has now given up a season-high 35 points in this game as the Irish push their lead to 35-21 with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Trojans turn it over on downs again

USC comes up empty on another fourth down attempt as a deep ball to Makai Lemon hits his hands and falls incomplete. It would have been a great catch but he can’t make it. The Trojans faced a third-and-three on that drive and threw two deep incompletions.

ANOTHER HUGE TURNOVER

John Humphrey settled in front of a Riley Leonard pass and picks it off the Trojans. It’s the second turnover of the day for the USC defense and this one comes at a huge time in the game as it felt like Notre Dame had a chance to run away with this one. USC takes over at the Notre Dame 38-yard line.

USC blinks first in the second half

The Trojans can’t answer the Notre Dame touchdown drive and put it back to the Irish with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter. That feels like a significant turn of events in a game in which the offenses had scored five touchdowns in a row combined. It’s 28-21 Notre Dame.

Notre Dame scores again

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is starting to impact this game with his legs. He ran three times for 35 yards including a two-yard touchdown on that drive for the Irish. Leonard is up to 59 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in the game. Notre Dame leads 28-21 with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter.

USC answers back, again

The USC offense picks on Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray a bit on that drive and goes 77 yards in eight plays to answer the Irish touchdown and tied the game 21-21 with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter. Jayden Maiava goes high over the pile and reaches the ball across the line for his second quarterback-sneak touchdown of the day. The drive was helped by a pass interference penalty on Gray on a third-and-eight deep ball from Maiava to Makai Lemon. Maiava also found Duce Robinson for a big gain against Gray early in the drive.

Notre Dame scores first in the second half

It’s easy as that for the Irish as they go 75 yards in six plays to open the second-half scoring. Jadarian Price goes untouched for 36 yards against a heavy USC blitz for the touchdown. It’s 21-14 USC as the Trojans fall behind for the third time today. There’s 12:38 remaining in the third quarter.

Woody Marks done for the day

Halftime stats

Score – USC 14, Notre Dame 14
Total yards – USC 188, Notre Dame 218
Rushing yards – USC 56, Notre Dame 104
Passing yards – USC 132, Notre Dame 114
Third-downs – USC 1-for-4, Notre Dame 2-for-6
Fourth-downs – USC 0-for-1, Notre Dame 3-for-3
Average yards per play – USC 6.7, Notre Dame 6.2
Turnovers – USC 0, Notre Dame 1

USC answers back

Huge, huge drive for the USC offense as Makai Lemon makes a big-time grab along the sideline and Maiava connects with Ja’Kobi Lane for a 12-yard touchdown with 24 seconds remaining before halftime. The Trojans to 78 yards in five plays and just 31 seconds to tie the game 14-14.

Notre Dame scores before halftime

Riley Leonard finds tight end Eli Raridon in the endzone for a 12-yard touchdown with just 59 seconds remaining in the half. Notre Dame gets the benefit of a weak tripping call against Braylan Shelby to keep the drive moving after quarterback Riley Leonard threw incomplete on a second down.

USC with its first three-and-out

The USC offense goes three-and-out, allowing a sack and dropping a pass. The ball goes right back to a Notre Dame offense that already has two possessions of at least 13 plays and 6:54 time of possession. The Irish take over at their own 35-yard line with 3:26 remaining in the second quarter. It’s a huge drive for the USC defense to keep Notre Dame out of the endzone as they’ll get the ball to open the third quarter.

Irish miss a field goal

The Notre Dame kicking game continues to be terrible as Mitch Jeter misses a 27-yard field goal wide right. He missed both kick attempts last week against Army and now misses early against the Trojans. The score stays 7-7 with 5:13 remaining in the first half.

Notre Dame trick play hits

It looked like the USC defense came up big with a three-and-out by Notre Dame hits an 18-yard pass on a fake punt to keep the drive alive.

USC cashes in

The Trojans make the most of the Notre Dame turnover going 37 yards in five plays and finishing it off with a touchdown sneak by quarterback Jayden Maiava. USC had to find some momentum in this game and got it there. It’s 7-7 with 12:07 remaining in the second quarter.

Game’s first turnover

USC cornerback Jacobe Covington delivers a big hit on a Notre Dame receiver to force a fumble and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold grabs it out of the air to set the Trojans up in positive field position early in the second quarter. Notre Dame came into the game No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin.

Trojans punt it back

Joyner gives the Trojans a nice run with a 12-yard gain but that’s about it for USC on a 19-yard drive. The Eddie Czaplicki punt puts Notre Dame at its own 15-yard line to start the second Irish drive of the game. The Trojans need to find some answers quickly on both sides with just 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

Woody Marks goes down

USC running back Woody Marks appears to hit his head hard on the ground and he stays down following a nine-yard run to open USC’s second offensive possession. He’s helped off the field and goes into the injury tent. If he can’t return, that would be a massive loss for the Trojans’ offense. He’s been the most consistent player on that side of the ball for USC this season. Second-year back Quinten Joyner comes into the game to replace him.

Notre Dame touchdown drive

The Irish move the ball 72 yards in 13 plays and get into the endzone with a one-yard run by Jeremiyah Love. The Irish went 2-for-2 on third downs and had 55 yards on the ground between Love and quarterback Riley Leonard. It’s 7-0 Notre Dame with 2:28 remaining in the first quarter and this game feels slanted heavily toward the Irish early on.

First key play

USC facing a 4th-and-2 gets the ball outside immediately to Zachariah Branch and he’s brought down short of the first-down line. Branch couldn’t make the unblocked defender miss on a wide receiver screen. That’s a turnover on downs for USC and the fourth game in a row the Trojans don’t score on their opening drive of the game.

Opening coin toss

USC wins the opening coin toss and elects to receive the ball to start the game.

USC Senior Day

USC has 31 seniors on its roster that will participate in senior day activities. It’s a group that includes a few players with another year of eligibility remaining, such as tight end Lake McRee, quarterback Miller Moss and right tackle Mason Murphy.

Caleb Williams returns

Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams is at the Coliseum for this game. He spent time with the USC offensive line ahead of the game.

Monitoring Monheim pregame

USC center Jonah Monheim is off by himself in the endzone working to warm himself up. It looks like he’s getting a sense for how he feels today. He’s listed as questionable but is in pads and cleats early on. We’ll continue to monitor how much he participates in pregame warmups.

Game captains

It’s a senior-heavy look for game captains for the Trojans. Cornerback Jaylin Smith, running back Woody Marks, offensive lineman Jonah Monheim, punter Eddie Czaplicki and safety Bryson Shaw are selected. USC is making a big push to get Czaplicki the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. It’s an honor he deserves based on his play this season.

Notre Dame uniform update

Notre Dame will wear all whites for this game against USC instead of their traditional gold pants for away games at the Coliseum. Trojan fans are hoping this follows the same script as when UCLA wore all-white jerseys in 2011 and proceeded to get steamrolled 50-0 by USC

USC Injury Report

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