Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 12:30 p.m. PT on ABC and WatchESPN
Irish to Watch: Junior QB DeShone KizerWhile the Fighting Irish have had a dreadful season, Kizer has kept them in every game. He is a big time talent who could be a star at the next level. Kizer has thrown 24 TDs to only 8 INTs, averaging 246 yards per game. He is also ND's second-leading rusher, accounting for 509 yards and 7 TDs on the ground. The matchup between Kizer and Sam Darnold will be one to watch over the next two seasons.
Click here for more on the Fighting Irish.
3 Keys
No Luck
While Notre Dame is 4-7, the Fighting Irish have lost all seven games by eight points or less. They obviously have been deficient in closing games, but the Trojans will not want to rely on that curse to continue. Two years ago, Notre Dame dragged itself to Los Angeles at the end of a trying campaign, and USC jumped on the Irish early and they went away. The Trojans would be wise to employ the same strategy because Brian Kelly's team would love nothing more than to spoil its rival's season if USC lets Notre Dame hang around.
For the Old Guys
For 14 USC seniors, Saturday's run out of the Coliseum tunnel will be their last in the Cardinal and Gold. Given everything that many of them have been through, they deserve to go out on top. "It's kind of funny that I say this finally in my senior year, this is what I came to USC for," said senior RB Justin Davis about finishing his career on a winning streak. "Being a part of this as my senior year, I could not ask for anything more." While even brighter days are ahead for this program, the seniors deserve one more day to savor the sun.
The Task at Hand
The Trojans have been in "playoff mode" for the last two months, battling back in the Pac-12 to put themselves in position to win the South if Utah beats Colorado on Saturday. The Notre Dame result will have no bearing on USC's hopes to win the division, so the Trojans are faced with a mental test of focusing on the game in front of them. It should help that the Irish are arguably USC's greatest rival and nearly every contributor on this team tasted defeat last year in South Bend. The Trojans have displayed excellent mental toughness during this seven-game winning streak, but they need to dip into that well one more time.
