LOS ANGELES – For just the fourth time since 1950, Notre Dame has survived the regular season unscathed.
Next stop for the Irish should be their first trip to the College Football Playoff, although final word won’t arrive until Dec. 2.
Saturday’s 24-17 win over Southern California at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a testament to the poise of the third-ranked Irish, who faced an early 10-point deficit. Playing hours after fourth-ranked Michigan blew its playoff shot with a 62-39 loss at Ohio State, the Irish came out flat for one of the rare times this season.
They faced a spirited effort from the underachieving Trojans, who were playing amid swirling rumors about the job status of coach Clay Helton. A plane flew over the stadium before the game carrying a banner that read: “Lynn Swann — Please Fire Clay Helton!”
That was a reference to the Trojans’ athletic director, whose team finished 5-7.
Notre Dame joins 2012, 1978 and 1973 editions in the unbeaten, untied romp through the regular season in the program’s past six decades.
Three reasons Notre Dame won:
Comeback kids
For just the second time all year, the Irish gave up a touchdown on their opponents’ opening drive. Only Pittsburgh, which marched 88 yards on 17 plays in nearly 10 minutes back on Oct. 13, had opened the game with a touchdown on the first possession.
Overall, Notre Dame entered with a 31-10 edge on first-drive scoring. The 10-point first-half deficit was the largest the Irish faced all year.
After being outgained 206-27 in total yardage through the first 18 minutes, Notre Dame gradually took control. Two late sacks by Julian Okwara and Jerry Tillery loomed large as the Irish put the finishing touches on freshman quarterback JT Daniels, who completed 18 of his first 19 passes but soon cooled.
Hardback Book
If there was a single play that jarred Notre Dame from its Game 12 nightmare, it was quarterback Ian Book’s 11-yard scramble for a key first down on a second-quarter touchdown drive. Not only did Book escape a potential sack on third-and-11, he lowered his right shoulder into USC cornerback Isaiah Langley at the first-down marker and got the better of him.
Those bruised ribs Book suffered back on Nov. 3 at Northwestern? They were on his right side.
Five plays after his first-down ramble, Book hit Chris Finke for a 24-yard touchdown and Notre Dame’s first points of the night. Book shook off an ugly fourth-quarter interception in the end zone to add a second touchdown pass on a career-best 352-yard passing night.
Trojan mistakes
USC didn’t drop four of its last five games on its way to a 5-6 mark by playing airtight football. A season-long trend continued as the Trojans lost a pair of first-half fumbles, including one inside the red zone.
The home team also was whistled for eight penalties totaling 71 yards (with another being declined) while the Irish drew three flags for 38 yards. Notre Dame entered tied for 31st in the country with 46.2 average penalty yards; the Trojans were 124th out of 130 FBS teams at 73.8 average penalty yards.
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