The Irish had no answers.
Entering Saturday, sophomore standout Caleb Williams was the focal point of No. 15 Notre Dame's (8-4) defensive scouting report. Yet, the Heisman Trophy favorite accounted for 267 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 6 Southern California (11-1) past the Irish, 38-27, in Saturday's regular-season finale in Los Angeles.
Inside ND Sports presented game balls to Williams and two other players for their performances in week 13.
Notre Dame Game Ball: WR Deion Colzie
With Southern California ahead 24-7 midway through the third quarter, Deion Colzie gave Notre Dame hope.
The 6-foot-5, 211-pound Colzie caught his first career touchdown on a 23-yard strike from junior quarterback Drew Pyne. Colzie also did it athletically, catching the pass on his back shoulder near the sideline with a USC defender nearby.
And his important catches did not stop there.
Earlier in the game, Colzie came up with a huge third-down grab worth 30 yards. His catch put the Irish in Trojan territory, eventually leading to the team's first score.
Colzie's final catch came with 1:24 remaining, setting up Notre Dame's final score. He finished the game with just those three catches totaling 75 yards.
Southern California offense: QB Caleb Williams
Heisman Trophy favorite Caleb Williams lived up to the hype and beat the Irish in every which way.
The sophomore standout picked apart the Notre Dame defense by completing 18-22 (82%) for 232 yards and a touchdown. The 6-1, 215-pound Williams also beat Notre Dame on the ground with nine carries for 35 yards and three scores.
Williams' only mistakes came on a trick play with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter. And even then, it was the correct decision. With the play design calling Williams to play receiver, Southern California's starting quarterback was flagged for an offensive pass interference in the end zone to break up a near interception by Irish safety Xavier Watts.
The Trojans still came away with three points, their only non-touchdown scoring drive of the game.
USC defense: LB Ralen Goforth
At points when the Irish offense gained momentum, Ralen Goforth was there to stop it.
The 6-2, 225-pound Goforth's biggest play came on Pyne's first devastating mistake. With the Irish knocking on the doorstep on USC's 23-yard line on the opening drive of the second half, Goforth broke through the line of scrimmage and fell on a fumbled exchange to take the wind out of Notre Dame's sails.
An underrated stop came earlier in the game, with the Irish offense approaching the red zone. Forty-nine seconds into the second quarter, Goforth stopped ND sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak attempt. Entering week 13, Evans was 5-5 on converting 3rd- and 4th-and-1 sneak plays.
Goforth finished the game with five tackles, three of which were solo.
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