Well, USC might have to settle for one trip to the Rose Bowl this season, as a 6-5 UCLA team is the only thing standing between USC and Glendale on January 8th. The Trojans dominated from the start, going up 21-3 before Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn and the Irish knew what hit them. Charlie Weis sent out his team for 6 fourth downs, of which they only made two, which really set the tempo for the game. Notre Dame had a hard time adjusting to USC's speed, and may have figured out things in the second quarter, but the Trojans pulled away in the fourth. Quinn made the game close, 37-24 with about 3 minutes remaining, before DE Brian Cushing returned an onside kick attempt 42 yards to the house for USC's first kickoff return since Reggie Bush did it against UCLA in 2003. John David Booty started off on fire, leading the Trojans to touchdowns on their first three drives, but looked a little stagnant after we went up 21-3, as on three consecutive drives, the Trojans had a punt blocked and threw two interceptions. But with a few halftime adjustments, USC was able to pull away to move one game from the big one. Booty really took advantage of Dwayne Jarrett's height and the mismatch with the Irish secondary, hooking up for three touchdowns. The defense was solid even in giving up 24 points, they made Quinn earn each touchdown and really clamped down in the red zone. Any rushing attempt Notre Dame tried inside the 5 was shut down for a loss, forcing Quinn to go to the air for the touchdown. It wasn't a 31 point blowout of the Ty Willingham era, but it still was a statement heading into the season finale. Time for the game balls...
Offense:
WR Dwayne Jarrett really stepped up today, catching 7 passes for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns. Booty would have got it, as he really tore apart the Notre Dame secondary, but those two picks, even though they didn't result in points, should not have happened. Honorable mention to C.J. Gable, who had over 100 yards rushing.
Defense:
LB Dallas Sartz may have heard a lot of critics this year, starting in front of a lot of talented linebackers, but he came up in his final game in the Coliseum, making 8 tackles and recording a sack and playing all around solid defense out there. The secondary deserves huge props as well, containing the Notre Dame receivers as well as limiting Quinn to 22-45 passing.
Special Teams:
Desmond Reed turned the tide of the game with his huge 40 yard punt return, which resulted in Jarrett's second touchdown of the game. There was no way Reed was going to fair catch that one, especially after the grass incident in South Bend last year.
And I had USC (-7.5) 31, Notre Dame 24. Off on the spread again...
Season-to-date:
W-L - 10-1
Against the spread: 5-5-1 (well, blowouts are good, right?)
And my top 25...
- Ohio State (12-0)
- Michigan (11-1)
- Southern California (10-1)
- Florida (11-1)
- Louisville (10-1)
- Boise State (12-0)
- Louisiana State (10-2)
- Wisconsin (11-1)
- Oklahoma (10-2)
- Arkansas (10-2)
- Notre Dame (10-2)
- Auburn (10-2)
- Rutgers (10-1)
- Virginia Tech (10-2)
- Wake Forest (10-2)
- West Virginia (9-2)
- Hawaii (10-2)
- Brigham Young (10-2)
- Texas (9-3)
- Tennessee (8-3)
- California (8-3)
- Nebraska (9-3)
- Georgia Tech (9-3)
- Texas A&M (9-3)
- Boston College (9-3)
Yeah, Hawaii at #17 is primed for the upset... USC will be #2 if they beat UCLA... What a coaching job by Bob Stoops, getting the Sooners back in the Big 12 Championship after losing QB Rhett Bomar and RB Adrian Peterson... And what a collapse by Texas, losing their last two games to fall from the BCS to either the Cotton Bowl or the Holiday Bowl... ACC Championship Game: Wake Forest vs. Georgia Tech, ugh... SEC Championship Game: Florida vs. Arkansas, go Hogs!... LSU, coulda, woulda, shoulda, best two loss team in the land... Boise State, BCS bound, now go represent the WAC in the Fiesta Bowl... Notre Dame to the Sugar Bowl, looking to extend their bowl losing streak...
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