USC
5-7
Notre Dame
12-0
Team Stats
ND 0, USC 7
USC - Malepeai, Vavae 14 yd run (Brown, Michael kick), 8 plays, 78 yards, TOP 3:34
ND 0, USC 10
USC - Brown, Michael 30 yd field goal 13 plays, 50 yards, TOP 5:56
ND 7, USC 10
ND - C. FINKE 24 yd pass from I. BOOK (J. YOON kick) 11 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:41
ND 14, USC 10
ND - D. WILLIAMS 52 yd run (J. YOON kick), 2 plays, 67 yards, TOP 0:33
ND 17, USC 10
ND - J. YOON 46 yd field goal 8 plays, 31 yards, TOP 2:45
ND 24, USC 10
ND - T. JONES 51 yd pass from I. BOOK (J. YOON kick) 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:44
ND 24, USC 17
USC - Vaughns, Tyler 20 yd pass from Daniels, JT (Brown, Michael kick) 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:19
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
USC Falls Short Against No. 3 Notre Dame, 24-17
November 24, 2018 | Football, Features
Chris Finke caught an early TD pass for the Fighting Irish (12-0, No. 3 CFP), who showed playoff-level tenacity in rallying from an early 10-point deficit, their largest of the season. Tony Jones Jr. then took a short pass 51 yards for a touchdown with 3:09 to play to finish off Notre Dame's 10th perfect regular season since 1945, the first since 2012.
Notre Dame is all but certain to be chosen for the four-team playoff.
Williams rushed for 97 yards as the Irish overcame a slow start in the 90th edition in this famed intersectional rivalry. Notre Dame didn't score until Finke's TD catch shortly before halftime, but the Irish ran off 24 consecutive points and shut out USC in the second half until Tyler Vaughns' TD catch with 48 seconds to play.
JT Daniels passed for 349 yards for the Trojans (5-7). Vaughns caught 12 passes for 120 yards.
After USC won eight straight over Notre Dame in the 2000s, the Irish have claimed the Jeweled Shillelagh in six of the last nine meetings in this classic college football matchup. Notre Dame is the first road team to win in the series since 2012, when the Irish also completed an unbeaten regular season with a victory at the Coliseum.
USC gave a tough game to the powerhouse Irish, who faced their first double-digit deficit of the year when USC went up 10-0 in the second quarter. The Trojans' 289 yards in the first half were 64 more than the Irish had allowed before halftime all season.
Notre Dame had only trailed twice at any point beforehand in their perfect season, but Williams bounced his 52-yard go-ahead run down the USC sideline shortly after halftime.
Justin Yoon set a Notre Dame record with his 58th career field goal late in the third, putting the Irish up 17-10.
Although Jones' late rumble to the end zone clinched the expected result for Notre Dame, the Trojans were competitive with an elite opponent.
USC got a 14-yard TD run on its opening drive by Vavae Malepeai, who missed the second half with an injury. When Michael Brown hit a field goal early in the second quarter, Notre Dame faced its first double-digit deficit of the year.
The Irish offense finally scored 2:20 before halftime, capping a difficult 64-yard drive with Book's 24-yard throw to Finke, who hadn't caught a TD pass since the season opener against Michigan.
USC's 10-7 halftime lead could have been much larger, but receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and Amon-Ra St. Brown both fumbled after catches in Notre Dame territory.
THE TAKEAWAY
USC: The Trojans showed up well for Helton despite the bleak circumstances, but were undone again by turnovers, penalties and poor play after halftime.
UP NEXT
USC's season has ended. The Trojans will play home games in 2019 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when renovations are expected to be fully complete.
Click Here to make a deposit toward 2019 season tickets.
