A strong third quarter helped the No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeat the USC Trojans 49-35. Sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava had 360 passing yards, over twice as many yards as Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard.
“That’s the best we’ve played offensively all year,” said USC football head coach Lincoln Riley. “That’s a really good defense we did some pretty good things against.”
However, the Trojans did not have an answer to the running game of the Irish. Notre Dame running backs made three touchdowns, ultimately running for 258 yards in the matchup.
“This team has put their heart and soul on the line,” Riley said about the Trojans. “We laid it on the line every single week.”
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During the game, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had his no. 13 jersey retired. His jersey number is next to the no. 5 jersey of NFL legend Reggie Bush. Williams is the eighth Trojan to win the Heisman Trophy.
Williams ran out with the team at the start of the game and was accompanied by youth from his foundation Caleb Cares. Throughout his time at USC, Williams hosted events to galvanize youth through his foundation. A major partner of Caleb Cares was the Boys and Girls Club.
The Trojans tied with the Irish at 14 points at halftime. However, Notre Dame scored 21 points in the third phase alone.
This matchup was also Senior Day. Senior corner Jaylin Smith led the Trojan defense with eight total tackles and six solo hits with 1.0 tackles for loss.
“I remember moving into the village like yesterday,” Smith said. “I just look back on the memories and the tradition, the culture, everything that SC stands on, I love everything about USC.”
Freshman running back Quinten Joyner made 10 carries for 83 yards and sophomore wide receiver Makai Lemon made nine catches for 133 yards.
During rough patches in this season, the Trojans did not blame one another for mistakes or losses. The team continued to play for one another regardless of the results. Riley mentioned how the squad were “high quality individuals.”
“I think there’s some really strong leadership in this program,” Riley said. “I think this group really cares about one another, they didn’t want to let each other down.”
