Game Balls: Xavier Watts, offensive line group step up for Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football got back to its winning ways on Saturday by defeating USC 48-20 behind multiple turnovers and Jadarian Price's 99-yard kickoff return touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The No. 21 Irish (6-2) moved their home win-streak to six against the No. 10 Trojans (6-1) and kept their chance of a 10-win regular season alive.
Inside ND Sports awarded two game balls for the Irish — one on defense and an offensive position group.
Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts
Notre Dame’s defense finished with a season-high four sacks, but Watts flew around from the first snap and left his mark on several different plays for defensive coordinator Al Golden.
The 5-foot-11, 204-pound defender picked off USC quarterback Caleb Williams twice in the first half including on the first drive of the game. Watts put a punctuation on the victory with a 14-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 3:27 left in the game. He later forced a fumble the Irish recovered to eventually run out the clock.
Watts' two interceptions, which included 61 return yards, led to Notre Dame first two touchdowns. He finished with seven tackles (six solo) and one pass breakup. He's surpassed five tackles in four of Notre Dame's eight games this season.
Defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Gabriel Rubio and linebacker Jaylen Sneed helped the secondary with pass deflections at the line of scrimmage on three separate plays. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison also intercepted Williams to give last year's Heisman Trophy winner the first three-interception game of his career.
Watts manned the backend and took consistent angles that held most of USC's outside runs for less than 15 yards beyond MarShawn Lloyd's 31-yard touchdown run.
Notre Dame’s five starting offensive linemen
After giving up five sacks and three quarterback hurries against Louisville, the Irish offensive line responded with one of their cleanest performances of the season.
The starting five didn’t commit any penalties and kept quarterback Sam Hartman upright. USC’s defense didn’t receive credit for a single sack or quarterback pressure. The Irish signal caller had more time to throw than he did against Louisville and Duke and distributed the ball to eight different receivers including wide receiver Chris Tyree, who had a game-high 62 receiving yards and one touchdown.
In the first half, Notre Dame’s offense took advantage of the defensive turnovers and scored 24 points. The Irish established their presence with 125 rushing yards, 95 of which belonged to running back Audric Estimé with two touchdowns. The offensive line didn't create gaping holes but set the tone against the Trojans front and was more physical. Notre Dame's offense averaged 4.3 yards per carry.
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