Brian Kelly Notebook: Previewing USC

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The Notre Dame-USC rivalry will add a new chapter this weekend when the No. 11 Trojans walk into Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night to face off against the No. 13 Irish.

Both teams enter the contest 1-1 against current Associated Press top-25 teams, with Notre Dame splitting Georgia and Michigan State, while USC knocked off Stanford before falling to Washington State.

For the Irish, USC presents the best offense, statistically, the team has faced to date. The Trojans rank 19th in the country after averaging 477.0 yards per game during their 6-1 start. In addition, their 296.4 yards per contest through the air is also 19th best in the nation.

“I think everybody nationally knows about Sam Darnold and what he can do —Heisman trophy candidate,” Brian Kelly said of the Trojans' quarterback. “Great supporting cast — [running back] Ronald Jones, [wide receiver] Deontay Burnett. Very, very capable in many areas; the ability to throw it.

“They are going to be a challenge as it relates to their passing game, and they are very good at running the football as well.”

Mike Elko’s defense has been a positive for the Irish so far in 2017, but through six games the unit ranked 78th nationally with 231.2 passing yards allowed per contest. Darnold has thrown for 2,063 yards and 15 touchdowns in seven games, but has also tossed nine interceptions.

Though some of the focus is on Darnold’s turnovers, the USC redshirt sophomore is considered a candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick the 2018 NFL Draft should he decide to enter.

“I don’t know where to start,” Kelly said when asked what makes Darnold effective. “Let’s see: accuracy, quick release, competitiveness. He can make plays after things break down. He just has that knack of making plays when it looks like you’ve got everything covered. Just a great arm, great arm strength.

“But I think what probably separates him from the other quarterbacks is just his ability to find that open window in tight spaces with a quick, quick release. That ball comes out of his hand as well as anybody that I’ve seen.”

Kelly knows the back line of the Irish defense, especially the safeties, will need to be on their “A” game in order to slow down Darnold.

“There’s no protecting anybody in the back end of our defense on Saturday,” Kelly explained. “This is a dynamic group [that] runs well, runs great routes [and] runs after the catch. I don’t know that protect would be the right word, but we are definitely utilizing what we consider their strengths and trying to play to their strengths.

“At this level, if there is a big weakness, somebody is going to go after it. We are trying to really stay towards what we feel their strengths are. Saturday night, they are going to have to play the ball in the air. They are going to have to tackle in space against a dynamic group. So, we’ll all be on display.”

USC ranks 52nd in the country rushing the ball (180.6 yards per game) to give the offense a little bit of balance. Jones and fellow running back Stephen Carr have combined to rush for 949 yards and 11 touchdowns on 154 carries (6.2 yards per carry).

Though much of the attention centers on Darnold and the offense, USC boasts talent on the defensive side, which is looking to shut down the Irish rushing attack. The Trojans are led by linebacker Cameron Smith, defensive backs Iman Marshall and Marvell Tell, and defensive lineman Rasheem Green, among others.

Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast is tasked with creating a game plan to stop Irish running back Josh Adams and company on the ground and Brandon Wimbush through the air.

Notre Dame is just a couple spots behind USC in total offense, ranking 21st nationally with an average of 471.2 yards per game. The Trojans will focus on an Irish running attack that ranks fifth nationally with 308.0 yards per contest. The Irish passing game is still trying to get on track, ranking just 115th nationally with 163.2 yards per tilt.

Kelly touched on what he expects to see from Pendergast’s defense and the challenges it will present.

“Multiplicity,” Kelly stated. “He’s seen it, done it all. Been in the NFL. Operates out of a three-down [linemen] package. Makes it difficult. Each week there’s a different flavor, blitz and pressure, so you’ve got to prepare for a lot of different things and make some adjustments on the sideline.

“Tries to get the quarterback on the ground and rattle the quarterback. Does a really good job. Three-down is difficult because you don’t see it each and every week. So you’ve got to make some adjustments with some protections. … [Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker/defensive end Christian] Rector has been matched up on a back a couple of times, and he’s got some sacks just because he’s one-on-one with a back.

“And in that three-down package, sometimes you fan the wrong way and you’ve got him matched up on a back. There’s some nuances within his structure that make it difficult.”

The Irish linebackers and rovers will be counted on to man the middle of the defense against Darnold and the intermediate routes along with helping stuff the run.

Kelly offered his thoughts on the second-level of the Irish defense heading into the matchup with the Trojans.

“[Senior rover] Drue [Tranquill] and [senior mike linebacker] Nyles [Morgan] have been outstanding players for us,” Kelly said. “I mean, at a high level. I think our Will linebacker has been productive. I think both [senior] Greer [Martini] and [junior] Te’von [Coney] have played well, and [that is] what we have expected.

“But the higher level of play has been certainly the Mike and the rover position. And quite frankly, they were in a position to be there as well. The Will — he gets expanded a lot more out of the box; he’s a lot more in coverage, so your productive players are going to be that rover position and Mike, and they have proven to be so.”

Expectations were high for sophomore drop end Daelin Hayes following his performance during the spring and in the Blue-Gold Game, when he recorded multiple sacks.

Hayes is second on the defensive line in snaps behind Jerry Tillery and is being used as a three-down player. But his two sacks on the season through six games leaves Irish fans wanting more after hoping he would be the one to fix the unit’s pass-rushing woes from a season ago.

Even though Hayes isn’t recording the stats many Irish faithful expected or hoped for, his impact is certainly felt on the Notre Dame defense.

“He’s graded out every single play by run/pass, by effort, by gap integrity and responsibility and doing his job as one of 11, and he's been really good,” Kelly said of Hayes. “The more glamorous stats are what you had mentioned in terms of sacks, but his ability to play fast has impacted the entire defense. Because you’ve got to pay attention to him. If you’re paying attention to him, and you’re sliding a back over there, there’s some other one-on-one matchups.

“So his impact in our defense has created a trickle-down for our entire defensive structure.”

You can read the full transcript of Kelly’s Tuesday press conference HERE.

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