USC football: A fan’s look back at the Notre Dame game

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A Notre Dame fan walks into a bar with his dog Irish. He tells the bartender, “My dog can do the most amazing tricks in the world. When Notre Dame wins in football, Irish does back flips, walks the length of a football field on his hind legs and barks out the fight song.”
“That is amazing,” says the bartender. “So what does he do when Notre Dame beats USC?”
“Don’t know,” says the man. “He’s only 8 years old.”

OK, it’s a variation of an old joke, but one USC fans heard all too often not so long ago, when USC endured an 0-12-1 stretch against Notre Dame.

My, how times have changed.

While the Trojans provided more anxious moments than necessary Saturday, their 34-27 victory at Notre Dame Stadium was their eighth in a row in the series, extending their greatest run of success ever against the Fighting Irish.

The Trojans let a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter dissolve into the Irish having the ball at the four-yard line with nine seconds remaining with a chance to tie, and possibly win.

But USC forced Jimmy Clausen into three straight incompletions, the last play starting with one second left, to record its fourth win in a row in front of Touchdown Jesus.

Of all the amazing things Pete Carroll has done as coach of the Trojans, this may be the most amazing: He is 8-1 against Notre Dame and 7-1 against UCLA.

From 1978 to 2000 (the year before Carroll took over), the Trojans were 8-14-1 against the Irish.

Yes, these are good times indeed for USC fans.

More than one college football expert thought this was the year Notre Dame had a legitimate chance to beat USC. The Irish had the nation’s top-rated passer in Clausen, one of the nation’s best wide receivers in Golden Tate, a dominant and veteran offensive line and, most important, incentive, after being outscored, 76-3, by USC the previous two seasons.

But the Trojans didn’t buy into it. They were clearly the better team and deserved the victory, no matter how close it got. Only an uncharacteristic fourth quarter by the defense made it a game.

Credit Clausen for making plays in the fourth quarter. And Tate is outstanding. But USC helped the Irish out way too often with penalties . After the Trojans built a 34-14 lead, they committed four personal fouls on defense. Of USC’s eight penalties in the game, five were personal fouls on the defense. And the Trojans gave up too many big plays in third-and-long situations.

USC also got burned on Notre Dame’s first touchdown drive, failing to notice Robby Parris lined up near the sideline on a field-goal attempt. Holder Eric Maust threw a pass that Parris took to the USC two-yard line.

But when the Trojans get a win at Notre Dame, all sins are forgiven and you remember the good things.

Here’s some of them that I noticed.

— Matt Barkley: The true freshman quarterback threw for 380 yards and two touchdowns. He again appeared unflappable. He is 5-0 as a starter with wins at Ohio State, at California and at Notre Dame. Call me Beano Cook, but Barkley is going to win the Heisman Trophy one day.

— Anthony McCoy: The senior had five receptions for 153 yards, a record for a USC tight end. His biggest catch came on a third-and-one play in the third quarter after Notre Dame had cut USC’s lead to 20-14. Barkley, about to be tackled, found McCoy for a 60-yard pass and run. McCoy dragged a defender nearly 20 yards to the five-yard line, setting up a touchdown.

— Damian Williams: The junior wide receiver had four receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Let the pleas begin now. Damian, come back for your senior season.

— Everson Griffen: The junior defensive end got a personal foul for flexing after a sack of Clausen. It cost USC on Notre Dame’s second touchdown drive, but Griffen had two sacks and blocked a conversion attempt in the fourth quarter. He also was credited with the tackle, along with Chris Galippo, when USC stopped James Aldridge for no gain on a fourth-and-one play from the USC 27 in the third quarter.

— Jurrell Casey: USC has another Mike Patterson. Casey, a sophomore tackle, tied Taylor Mays for the lead in tackles with 10. He also forced a fumble.

The win leaves the Trojans at 5-1 and right in the middle of the national championship discussion. Four of USC’s remaining regular-season games are at the Coliseum, where USC has lost once in the last seven seasons.

USC plays host to Oregon State next week and the Beavers haven’t won at the Coliseum since 1960. But no USC fan needs to be reminded Oregon State was the only team to beat the Trojans last season.

But that’s next week. For now, I’m going to enjoy another victory over Notre Dame. And teach my dog Sugar how to sing “Fight On.”
— Hans Tesselaar