University Southern California Trojans
USC
2-5
Notre Dame
3-3
Team Stats
USC 0, ND 3
ND - Setta, Nicholas 38 yd field goal 7 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:25
USC 7, ND 3
USC - PIERSON, Chad 54 yd pass from PALMER, Carson (DAVIS, David kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:26
USC 13, ND 3
USC - COLBERT, Keary 20 yd pass from PALMER, Carson (DAVIS, David kickfailed) 1 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:07
USC 13, ND 10
ND - Howard, T. 4 yd run (Setta, Nicholas kick), 4 plays, 28 yards, TOP 1:38
USC 16, ND 10
USC - DAVIS, David 18 yd field goal 11 plays, 50 yards, TOP 4:05
USC 16, ND 17
ND - Holiday, C. 35 yd run (Setta, Nicholas kick), 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:23
USC 16, ND 20
ND - Setta, Nicholas 29 yd field goal 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:43
USC 16, ND 27
ND - Jones, Julius 5 yd run (Setta, Nicholas kick), 5 plays, 22 yards, TOP 0:31
Trojan Football Falls To Irish, 27-16
October 20, 2001 | Football
Oct 20, 2001
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Carlyle Holiday has the Notre Dame offense running again and the Irish winning again.
Holiday fell 2 yards shy of his third straight 100-yard rushing game Saturday as Notre Dame (3-3) overcame an 11-point deficit to beat Southern Cal 27-16 Saturday for its third straight victory after its first ever 0-3 start.
Holiday, making his fourth start, had a 43-yard run to set up a field goal, a 35-yard TD run, and a 42-yard pass - Notre Dame's longest of the season.
"He's a weapon every time he touches the ball," Irish coach Bob Davie said.
The Irish lost 24-3 to Texas A&M in Holiday's first start, but he only played the first half because of a neck injury. He's led the Irish in rushing in each of their victories.
"He is very mobile," Southern Cal safety Troy Polamalu said. "They should probably put him at tailback. He's a great runner and hard to bring down."
Notre Dame's two leading career rushing quarterbacks, Tony Rice and Jarious Jackson, had only two 100-yard rushing games each in their careers.
The Irish, who had just 269 yards rushing in their opening three losses, have rushed for at least 200 yards in each of their victories. They had 208 yards against the Trojans (2-5) on Saturday.
"I feel we can run the table as long as we execute and play hard," Holiday said.
Holiday was 9-of-12 passing for 133 yards.
The Irish were in trouble early against the Trojans, falling behind 14-3. Chad Pierson caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer when Irish cornerback Vontez Duff mistimed his jump on an interception attempt. The Trojans then scored on a 20-yard pass from Palmer to Keary Colbert after the ball was snapped while Notre Dame's defense was still in the huddle.
"We tried to make a perfect call instead of a call. It's embarrassing," Davie said.
The momentum of the game switched, however, on a failed fake punt by Southern Cal late in the second quarter. Trojan coach Pete Carroll said he didn't call the fake, but punter Mike MacGillivray has the option if he sees an opening. MacGillivray was tackled for no gain by Shane Walton.
"There was a swing there," Carroll said.
MacGillivray said he thought he saw an opening on the right.
"I was hoping to get something going," he said.
Instead, it was the Irish who got going. The Irish scored four plays later on a 4-yard run by Terrance Howard, who has played sparingly since fumbling on the opening play against Nebraska in the opener.
The Trojans went ahead 16-10 early in the third quarter following a fumble by Holiday, who had three. The Irish appeared to have the Trojans stopped at the 30. But on fourth-and-6, Palmer threw a pass to Keary Colbert, who broke a tackle and ran for another 20 yards before being tackled at the 1. The Irish stopped the Trojans on three straight plays, however, and Southern Cal had to settle for an 18-yard field goal by David Davis to move ahead 16-10.
"That was a big, big momentum swing," Davie said. "It may have been the biggest series of the game."
The Irish outscored the Trojans 24-3 the rest of the way, starting with an eight-play, 71-yard TD drive capped by Holiday's 35-yard touchdown run. Holiday, who left the game briefly with a bruised knee early in the game, ran an option right and broke two tackles to score.
"We switched up and were able get key blocks on the outside," Holiday said.
The Irish finally put the game away when Julius Jones, who ran for 95 yards on 21 carries, scored on a 5-yard TD run with 1:21 left. The score was set up by Palmer's fumble.
Sunny Byrd, filling in for injured Sultan McCullough, had 62 yards rushing, 48 of it in the first half. Southern Cal finished with 60 yards rushing.
The loss was by the largest margin of the season for the Trojans, whose four previous losses had been a combined 14 points.
"Every game we play comes down to the wire," Palmer said. "We just haven't been able to pull one out."
The defeat leaves Southern Cal a loss away from its second straight losing season. The Trojans haven't had consecutive losing seasons since 1960-61.
"This is a very difficult loss because of how much was on the line and how much this game meant to the players and the school," Carroll said.
