How did Notre Dame whoop USC?
A week after a dismal showing at Louisville, the Fighting Irish turned around and put a beating on the USC Trojans. How did they shut down Caleb Williams and the Trojan offense?
The reactions from USC’s defeat against Notre Dame have really been something. Perhaps it’s the amount of Oklahoma in my mentions and Twitter feed but it seems like people are really seizing on this USC loss.
For some it’s vindication that Alex Grinch is terrible and the USC defense has officially sabotaged the 2023 season.
The problem with this interpretation is that USC defended Notre Dame decently well and the Irish essentially put the game away with a kickoff return in the 3rd quarter.
For others it’s all about how Brent Venables has been vindicated as the superior coach for Oklahoma. After a tough year one, Venables has the Sooners 6-0 and fresh off a bye week after beating rival Texas 34-30 in the Red River Shootout. The difficulty with this interpretation is that USC is 5-1 and we don’t know how the season will end. Nor how the future will play out.
My early assumption was that Notre Dame took advantage of the Louisville week to be extra prepared for the Trojans, at the expense of giving the Cardinals their best. That probably happened, but a review of the film doesn’t suggest anything particularly brilliant by the Irish.
Here’s what I think happened…
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