University Southern California Trojans
No. 1 USC Football Hosts Traditional Rival Notre Dame
November 21, 2004 | Football
Nov. 21, 2004
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USC and Notre Dame meet for the 76th time in the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. Both teams will be well-rested because they had byes last week. The top-ranked, defending national champion Trojans smashed Arizona 2 weeks ago to clinch their third consecutive Pac-10 title and earn a berth in the Rose Bowl. But Troy is continuing its quest for the BCS Championship Game in the Orange Bowl, needing wins in its traditional rivalry games this week against the Irish and then next week at intracity foe UCLA. It's only the second time in history that USC has played Notre Dame and UCLA back-to-back in that order (usually, it's the other way around). USC has won a school record-tying 20 consecutive home games in the Coliseum, which is sold out for a school-record third time this season. USC's home attendance total and average records should fall. The Trojans are also riding a 19-game winning streak (second longest in school history) and have won 30 of their last 31. USC head coach Pete Carroll is 12-0 in November. A win would give USC its best start since 1972. Notre Dame has never beaten a No. 1 USC team in 3 tries. However, unranked Irish squads are even up against ranked Trojan teams. The winner gets year-long possession of the Shillelagh. It's the anniversary of a pair of famous USC comeback victories over the Irish: the 40th of 1964 and 30th of 1974. The Trojan offense--cranking out 430-plus yards and 37 points a game--is led by QB Matt Leinart (22-1 as a starter), multipurpose TB Reggie Bush (both are Heisman Trophy candidates), bruising TB LenDale White, go-to TE Dominique Byrd and precocious WR Dwayne Jarrett. For the third game in a row, USC is ranked in the NCAA's Top 6 in every defensive statistical category, thanks to a quartet of All-American candidates: DTs Shaun Cody (a Lombardi finalist) and Mike Patterson and LBs Matt Grootegoed (a Butkus finalist) and Lofa Tatupu. All-American P Tom Malone leads the Pac-10 in punting average. Notre Dame, guided by former Stanford head coach Tyrone Willingham, already has beaten a pair of teams currently ranked in the AP Top 15. ND has an offense that features the dangerous tailback tandem of Darius Walker and Ryan Grant, efficient QB Brady Quinn and effective WR Rhema McKnight, a Southern California native. The Irish defense--behind ILB Mike Goolsby--has had great success stopping the run, holding opponents to less than 100 yards per game. It's "Anthony Davis Day" (the Trojan tailback scored 11 touchdowns against Notre Dame in his 3-year career). The game will be shown live nationally in prime time on ABC-TV. ESPN's "College Gameday" will make a return visit outside the Coliseum on Saturday morning. The night before, the Women of Troy host Notre Dame in women's basketball.
RANKINGS
USC is ranked first by AP and USA Today/ESPN. Notre Dame is not ranked.
SERIES
Notre Dame leads the series with USC which began in 1926, 42-28-5. USC has won the last 2 games after the Irish won the 3 previous meetings, but Troy won the 3 before that. In the past 10 games, USC holds a 5-4-1 lead. Since 1967, the series is knotted at 17-17-3. In Los Angeles games, USC leads, 18-17-4.
Last year, No. 5 USC scored its most points ever in South Bend and had its biggest victory margin there in a 45-14 crushing of Notre Dame (its second consecutive 31-point win over the Irish). It was only USC's second win in South Bend in the past 20 years. Troy's 45 points not only were the most anyone scored in Notre Dame Stadium since 1960 (and the second most ever there), but it tied the second- most points USC ever scored against the Irish, home or away, and equaled its largest margin of victory ever against ND. It was the 75 th USC-Notre Dame game. USC had 551 yards of total offense (356 passing, 195 rushing) against an Irish unit that was 14 th nationally in total defense (293.2), with 340 of that coming before halftime. Five of Troy's 6 TD drives went 80 yards. USC also had a decided edge in first downs (29-16), plays (81-70) and possession time (33:30-26:30). And the Trojan defense allowed ND just 279 yards of total offense, including only 69 in the second half (with minus 5 rushing). QB Matt Leinart threw for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns (tying a Notre Dame opponent record) on 26-of-34 passing (career bests in yards, TDs and completions). He completed his first 7 passes of the game. WRs Mike Williams (9 catches, 112 yards) and Keary Colbert (8 for 120) each had 100-yard games with a TD. The game started off as a shootout, as the teams traded touchdowns on their first 2 possessions. Leinart hit Colbert on an 18-yard scoring pass less than 3 minutes into the game, but Notre Dame an-swered as TB Julius Jones ran for a 22-yard TD. Then, 4 plays into USC's next series, TB Reggie Bush cut back untouched 58 yards for a TD. But the Irish matched that as true freshman QB Brady Quinn hit TE Anthony Fasano for a 2-yard score. USC then scored on its next drive--a 7-yard Leinart to Williams pass to cap a 35-point first quarter--to start the Trojans' string of 31 unanswered points. First, TB Hershel Dennis caught a 3-yard TD pass from Leinart late in the second quarter to give USC a 28- 14 halftime lead. The Trojans then scored on their first two possessions of the second half (a 7-yard Leinart pass to TE Gregg Guenther and a 27-yard field goal by PK Ryan Killeen). Dennis finished the scoring with a 2-yard run late in the game. Bush ran for a game-best 89 yards on just 6 tries (a 14.8 average), while TB LenDale White added 75 yards on 16 carries and Dennis had 38 yards on 10 attempts. LB Melvin Simmons led USC with 13 tackles (3 for losses), while S Darnell Bing had 11 stops and LB Lofa Tatupu had 10 (3 for losses). USC sacked Quinn 4 times (2 each by DE Kenechi Udeze and DT Mike Patterson). Quinn was 15-of-34 for 168 yards, while Jones--who was coming off a school-record 262-yard rushing performance the previous week at Pittsburgh-- ran for 84 yards on 18 carries. The score was similar to USC's 2002 win over Notre Dame (in those 2 games, the Trojans outscored Notre Dame, 89-27, while piling up 1,161 yard of total offense).
In 2002 in the last meeting in the Coliseum, QB Carson Palmer threw 4 touchdown passes to help the USC offense collect 610 total yards, while the Trojan defense limited the Irish to just 109 total yards, as No. 6 USC overwhelmed No. 7 Notre Dame, 44-13. It was USC's most points and biggest victory margin over ND since 1974. USC's total yardage--a season high--was the most ever allowed by the Irish, as were Palmer's 425 passing yards and TD throws. It was also the most points surrendered by ND since 1998. USC snapped a 3-game losing streak to the Irish. After a pair of first quarter field goals by PK Nicholas Setta (34 and 32 yards), USC got on the board in the second quarter on a 6-yard Palmer scoring toss to WR Mike Williams followed by PK Ryan Killeen's 22-yard field goal. Late in the first half, ILB Carlos Pierre-Antoine blocked a punt and recovered it for a TD. But USC took just 1:02 to counter the score on Palmer's 19- yard TD pass to Williams with 5 seconds left to go up 17-13. That started a run of 34 unan-swered points for Troy. It was all USC in the second half as Palmer hit TB Malaefou MacKenzie with a pair of TD passes (15 yards early in the third quarter and then 10 yards midway through the fourth quarter), sand-wiching a pair of Killeen field goals (27 and 29 yards in the third quarter) and an 11-yard scoring run by TB Sultan McCullough early in the fourth quarter. Palmer, who was 32-of-46 passing (one completion shy of the USC game record), became the Pac-10's career total offense leader and set a Pac-10 season record for passing yards, as well as USC season marks for TD passes and total offense. He also set a USC record with 147 consecutive passes without an interception before being picked off twice. WR Kareem Kelly tied the USC career receptions record, while Williams caught 10 passes for 169 yards (both game highs) to go over the 1,000-yard season barrier and WR Keary Colbert had 5 grabs for 75 yards. TB Justin Fargas ran for a game-best 120 yards on 20 carries (he also caught 4 passes for 41 yards) and McCullough added 44 yards on 8 tries. USC, which had 31 first downs and averaged 7.3 yards per play, had its most yards of total offense since getting 621 against Oregon State in 1996. USC did this against an Irish defense that was ranked second nationally in pass efficiency defense (85.9), third in scoring defense (13.2), fifth in total defense (170.6) and ninth in rushing defense (90.5). On the other side of the ball, USC's defense held ND to just 4 first downs, 0- of-13 on third down conversions, 2.1 yards on 51 plays and 21:55 possession time. The Irish, who rushed for only 39 yards in the game, had just 15 total yards (and no points) after half-time. ND QB Carlyle Holiday, who was just 10-of-29 for 70 yards with 3 interceptions, saw his school-record string of 126 passes without being picked off snapped. RB Ryan Grant, a 1,000-yard rusher, got only 16 yards on 10 tries. USC LB Melvin Simmons had 7 tackles, while LB Mike Pollard added 6 stops and an inter-ception and S Troy Polamalu had 5 tackles. CB Darrell Rideaux and S DeShaun Hill also had picks. It was the first time USC beat UCLA and Notre Dame in the same season since 1981 (and the first time in back-to-back games since 1978); the combined 62-point margin of victory was the Trojans' highest ever against their 2 rivals. It gave Troy its first 10- win season since 1988. It was the highest-ranked opponent USC beat since No. 3 Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl (and in the regular season since downing No. 5 Penn State in 1991).
WIN STREAKS
The Trojans have captured their last 20 home games (with 4 shutouts). That ties the school record, set both in 1919-23 and 1927-29 (the Pac-10 mark is 26 by California, 1919-23). Besides that Pac-10 leading 20-game home win-ning streak, USC also has the longest current Pac-10 win streaks for overall games (19), Pac-10 home games (a school-record 15), Pac-10 games (14) and road games (8). Troy's 19- game winning streak is the second longest in the nation (behind Boise State's 21) and is USC's longest since a school- and Pac-10- record 25 consecutive from 1931 to 1933. USC's 15-game Pac-10 home win streak is just short of the Pac-10 record (16 by Oregon, 1997-2001). The 14-game Pac-10 win streak is USC's longest since a school-record 19 consecutive in 1987-89 (the Pac-10 mark is 22 by Cal, 1947-50). The 8-game road winning streak (which does not include 2 neutral site victories during that span) is the Trojans' longest since a school-record 12 in a row in 1978- 80 (which did not include 2 netural site wins). HIGH RANKING USC has been ranked in the AP Top 10 for its past 29 games, its longest string since 34 in a row in 1978-80. The Trojans have been in the AP Top 5 in 25 of the last 30 polls. USC has been AP's No. 1 team in the last 15 polls. RECORD WHEN NO. 1 USC has a 46-4-2 (.904) record in games when it is ranked No. 1 by AP. When a No. 1-ranked Trojan team faced a ranked opponent, it has gone 16-2-1 (.868), with the losses versus Oklahoma in 1963 and Alabama in 1977 and the tie with Oklahoma in 1973. When a No. 1 USC squad played an unranked opponent, it went 30-2-1 (.924), with the losses at Oregon State in 1967 and versus Arizona in 1981 and the tie with Stanford in 1979. BEST START At 10-0, USC is off to its best start since the 1988 squad also began 10-0 (a win would give USC its best start since the 1972 national championship team finished the season at 12-0). IN THE COLISEUM USC has a 379-122-27 (.743) all-time record in the Coliseum since the stadium opened in 1923. IN NOVEMBER USC has a 221-121-20 (.638) all-time record while playing in the month of November. USC head coach Pete Carroll is 12-0 in November. AFTER BYES USC is 82-42-4 in all regular season games it has played following byes. This is the third season in the last decade that the Trojans have 3 regular-season byes (also in 1996 and 2003); before that, it hadn't happened since 1935. SHILLELAGH The winner of the USC-Notre Dame game gets year-long possession of the Shillelagh. The foot-long shillelagh--a Gaelic war club made of oak or blackthorn saplings from Ireland-- has ruby-adorned Trojan heads with the year and game score representing USC victories, while emerald-studded shamrocks stand for Notre Dame wins. For tie games, a combined Trojan head/shamrock medallion is used. CARROLL'S SECOND HALF SHOWING Fourth-year head coach Pete Carroll's USC teams have been nearly unbeatable during the second half of the regular season. Indeed, his teams are 17-7 in the first half of the regular season and then 20-1 in the second half (not counting 2-1 in the bowls). 2003 COMPARISON A 10-game statistical comparison between the No. 1-ranked Trojans of 2004 and the 2003 national championship USC team in key categories shows that this year's team has an offense almost equal to last year's, but the current defense is much more domi-nant.
WHAT IF?
A number of Trojans--mainly offensive players--projected as starters in 2004 are not on the USC roster or have missed significant action. They include WR Mike Williams (not eligible after signing with an agent), DE Kenechi Udeze (left early for the NFL), FB Brandon Hancock (out all season with a knee injury), OT Winston Justice (suspended all season), TE Gregg Guenther (playing basketball) and WR Whitney Lewis (ineligible). And several oth-ers have missed some contests this season: TE Dominique Byrd (missed USC's first 4 games of 2004 with a knee injury), TB Hershel Dennis (missed first 2 games while suspended), WR Steve Smith (missed last 5 games with a broken leg), OG John Drake (missed last 2 games with an ankle sprain), CB Kevin Arbet (missed last game with a knee sprain) and WR Chris McFoy (missed last game with a knee sprain). HOME ATTENDANCE RECORD PACE USC, which is averaging 83,752 fans per home game in 2004, is on pace to shatter the school and Pac-10l home average attendance record it established last year (77,804). If at least 85,239 show up for the 2004 home finale versus Notre Dame, USC also will break its home attendance total record (504,000, set in 1933 when there were 8 home contests). Troy's California and Arizona State home games were sold out, marking only the second time in Trojan history that there have been back-to-back sellouts in the Coliseum (the other time was in 1947 for the UCLA and Notre Dame games). Those 2 crowds (90,008 for California and 90,211 for Arizona State) were USC's largest crowds to see a non-UCLA/non-Notre Dame home game since 1952, when 94,677 fans attended the USC-California game when the Coliseum's capacity was greater than present.
SELLOUTS
USC has had 3 home sellouts in 2004 (California, Arizona State, Notre Dame), a school record. USC also will play before 7 regular-season sellouts--home and away--in 2004 (the 3 home games plus road contests versus Virginia Tech, Washington State, Oregon State and UCLA), also a school record. That also ties the USC record for most season (including bowls) sellout games played, set in 1979 (this mark could be in jeopardy, as the Trojans' bowl appearance likely will be sold out).
CONNECTIONS
USC has no players from Indiana, but there are 9 Californians on the Notre Dame roster...USC TB LenDale White is the cousin of ex-Notre Dame (1998) tailback Darcey Levy...Notre Dame women's volleyball coach Debbie (Landreth) Brown was a 2-time All-American (1976-77) at USC on a pair of national championship teams...The athletic departments and business schools at USC and Notre Dame, along with those at North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan and Texas, conduct the Sports Management Institute for mid- and upper-level sports administrators who aspire to be athletic directors, executive directors or general managers in college, amateur or pro sports.
USC'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
USC has won 10 national championships in football: 1928-31-32-39-62-67-72-74-78-2003. In 5 other years (1929-33-76-79-2002), the Trojans were picked by some as No. 1, but the selectors were deemed not all-encompassing enough to claim a legitimate national crown.
PAC-10 TITLE
After sharing the Pac-10 championship in 2002, USC won the 2003 Pac-10 title outright (its first outright crown since 1989) and has already clinched at least a share of the 2004 league crown. That's the first time that USC won 3 consecutive Pac-10 titles since 1988-88-89. USC has now won the league title 34 times, twice as much as any other school.
1964, 1974 ANNIVERSARIES
This is the anniversary of a pair of famous USC comeback wins over Notre Dame: the 40 th of the 1964 game and the 30 th of the 1974 contest. In 1964, USC's Rod Sherman caught a 15-yard TD pass from Craig Fertig with 1:33 to play to upset unbeaten and top-ranked Notre Dame, 20-17 (the Trojans were down, 17-0, at halftime). Then, in what is regarded as one of the most dramatic comebacks in the history of college football, the 1974 Trojans erased a 24-point deficit to beat Notre Dame, 55-24, in the Coliseum. USC trailed the Irish, 24-0, late in the first half, and the Trojans' chances looked bleak because Notre Dame sported the nation's top-ranked defense. But with 10 seconds remaining before halftime, Anthony Davis scored on a 7-yard pass from Pat Haden (Troy missed the 2-point conversion) to send the Trojans into the lockerroom behind 24-6...but with a glimmer of hope. Davis took the opening kickoff of the second half and raced 102 yards for a score, opening the floodgates as USC rallied for 35 points in the third quarter. Davis scored 2 more times that quarter, both on short runs, and Haden threw TD passes of 18 and 45 yards to Johnny McKay. Then, before 2 minutes had elapsed in the fourth quarter, Haden hit Shelton Diggs for a 16-yard score and Charles Phillips returned an interception 58 yards for a touch-down. In all, USC blitzed to its 55 points in less than 17 minutes. The victory propelled USC, which then beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, 18-17, to the national championship.
