Notre Dame vs. USC preview

            It’s USC weekend! That means the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy. The greatest cross- country football rivalry in America. Notre Dame vs. USC.  The USC game is always my favorite game to watch. I absolutely despise USC more than any other team.  I had to sit through eight years of USC domination over the Fighting Irish, but last year the Irish prevailed and defeated the Trojans. Needless, to say, I was ecstatic.

             
            This year, the Irish are looking to continue their 4-game winning streak all the way to a BCS Bowl. The Trojans are looking to become bowl-eligible and improve their record to 6-1.

                
            From everything I’ve read, it seems like the fans and media are more pumped for this game than the Fighting Irish football team is. In an interview about this game, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly he is excited about the game because it’s finally a good rivalry; with Notre Dame losing eight straight years it wasn’t too exciting for the Irish. Kelly knows this rivalry brings national media attention, but he also knows how to keep the team focused and not get caught up in all the hoopla.

-hoopla is now my word of the day.

               

                
            As for the off-the-field news, where do I start?

1) Notre Dame will debut their new helmets. Before you fall out of your chair, the only change you will notice is that the helmets are a sparkling gold, as opposed to a duller shade of gold.  The new color is a near duplicate of the Golden Dome atop The Main Building on the campus of Notre Dame. What disappoints me is that because of this new paint and way the paint is applied, the age-old tradition of students painting the helmets is gone.

Old helmet on the left, new one on the right.

 2) I’m not big on covering the recruiting scene in college sports, but there are going to be about a dozen of the nation’s best high school football players in attendance for the game Saturday night. Notre Dame always has one of the best recruiting classes every year, but the games when recruits visit play a significant role in persuading a player to sign with your school.

- It was just announced that one of the top-rated recruits in the country, Gunner Kiel, will be attending the game. Kiel is a senior quarterback at Columbus East in Indiana who had verbally committed to Indiana University, but just denounced that commitment this week.

3) Rally Towels. That makes me shutter. I haven’t heard if these are officially going to happen or not. Rally towels have no place inside Notre Dame Stadium. I hope and pray they don’t make an appearance against USC.

4) This game will be the first night game at Notre Dame in almost 20 years.

5) The men and women’s basketball team will hold “Midnight Madness” which signals the beginning of official practices for both teams. Most schools held these initial practice sessions last weekend, so you know the Irish held off until this weekend just to get more attention.

6) Notre Dame opens its brand new hockey arena, the Compton Family Ice Arena. The grand opening took place Friday night when the Irish beat hockey powerhouse Rensselaer. (I’m kidding about that hockey powerhouse title. I actually have no idea where Rensselaer is or how good they are at hockey)

7) We may even see green jerseys worn by Notre Dame. There has been no talk of this, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Irish broke them out.

So with all that going on, let’s hope people remember there is a game to be played.

Keys to an Irish Victory

Stop Matt Barkley- Barkley is the USC Trojans starting quarterback. The junior comes in having thrown 16 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. The Trojans starting running back is out because of injury, so their offense is going to rely on Barkley being able to move the offense. Barkley will also get plenty of help from his sophomore receiver Robert Woods.

Pass the ball- USC’s defense has given up over 190 passing yards in all six of their games so far. That includes giving up 400 yards to Arizona and 290 to California. Neither of those teams are that good and have a combined record of 5-8. The Irish need to do what they’ve done all season and that’s spread the ball around. Tommy Rees should have no problem getting the ball to his receivers and scoring touchdowns.

Focus on the game- With all the hype going into the game it’s important for the Irish to remember to just play the game. Go out and do what you’ve done the past four games, and that’s to win. That means no turnovers, no dumb plays, and no penalties.

               

          Notre Dame and USC is an age-old rivalry that began when Knute Rockne coached at Notre Dame. Even though neither team is ranked, the game still means a lot to the players, and especially the fans. This game is vital for the Irish if they want to make it to a BCS Bowl. The Trojans are the biggest hurdle standing between them and the season finale at Stanford. If the Irish win today they should get to nine wins, possible 10.

Predicted score: Notre Dame-38, USC- 17