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Notre Dame
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USC Football Ends Regular Season Hosting No. 3 Notre Dame
November 18, 2018 | Football, Features
*The Trojans need a win to get bowl eligible after falling to crosstown rival UCLA last Saturday (Troy also is looking to end a 2-game Coliseum losing skid after winning its previous 19 home contests). The Irish need a win to stay in contention for a College Football Playoff semifinal berth.
*The Trojans have won 11 of the past 16 meetings with the Irish (including the past 2 in the Coliseum), but all 5 of those losses have been since 2010.
*USC has spoiled a perfect Notre Dame season 5 times in history, but on the other hand an undefeated/ untied Irish team has beaten Troy 10 times, including in the most recent such matchup in 2012 (which, interestingly, also was played on Nov. 24 in the Coliseum).
*It's just the fourth time a USC team with 6-plus losses has faced Notre Dame
*Troy is about .500 historically against ND when coming off the UCLA game.
*The game is a battle between schools with perhaps the country's most glorious gridiron heritages. The winner gets year-long possession of the jeweled Shillelagh.
*It's the ninth night game for the Trojans in 2018 (one short of the school record).
*USC's seniors will be playing their final game in the Coliseum. They will enter the field through a tunnel of former Trojan football players.
*Head coach Clay Helton's Trojans hope to snap their 2-game losing streak (USC has dropped 4 of its last 5 outings). Troy's offense is led by true freshman early-enrollee QB JT Daniels, productive TBs Aca'Cedric Ware and Vavae Malepeai (1,250-plus rushing yards between them) and talented WRs Tyler Vaughns, Michael Pittman Jr. (106 receiving yards at UCLA) and true frosh Amon-Ra St. Brown (team-best 50 catches), whose brother played at Notre Dame. USC's defense features ILB Cameron Smith (on pace for his third straight year as the team's tackle leader), S Marvell Tell III, CB Ajene Harris and DL-turned-OLB Christian Rector (9 sacks in 2018).
*Head coach Brian Kelly's Notre Dame club is riding a victory over Syracuse at Yankee Stadium, its 12th straight win. QBs Ian Book, second nationally in completion percentage (72.6%) and seventh in passing efficiency, and Brandon Wimbush have both started in 2018. RB Dexter Williams headlines ND's rushing attack, while top receivers are WRs Miles Boykin, Chris Finke and Chase Claypool and TE Alize Mack. Leaders on a defense that is second nationally in pass efficiency defense and Top 20 in scoring defense and total defense are ILBs Te'von Coney and Drue Tranquill, Ss Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott, CB Julian Love and DT Jerry Tillery. PK Justin Yoon has a school-record tying 57 career field goals (he already is ND's career points leader).
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