Notre Dame and USC took a COVID-forced break in their annual series last year for the first time since Harry S. Truman’s presidency.
It resumes with both teams in the same spot they occupied when they last played two seasons ago. The No. 13 Irish (5-1) are still in the top-15. The Trojans (3-3) are still wandering in the desert. They’ll meet Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) for the 92nd time in their history.
Here’s a look at three things to know about USC, which is playing out a lost season under interim head coach Donte Williams.
1. A Drake duo
Two of USC’s most productive players have the same first name. They also might be the best player Notre Dame faces this year at their respective positions.
Junior wide receiver Drake London is considered an early-to-mid first-round pick in next spring’s NFL Draft. He’s a 6-5, 210-pound physical presence with a 38-inch vertical jump. He also played basketball for USC as a freshman and was a two-sport star in high school. Through six games, he ranks second the country with 64 catches and fourth with 832 receiving yards. He has also caught five touchdowns.
London made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2019 despite a talented group of returning receivers, with 567 yards in nine starts. He caught 33 passes for 502 yards and six touchdowns in five games last year.
On the other side, classmate and outside linebacker Drake Jackson leads the Trojans in sacks (3.0), quarterback pressures (16) and is tied for first in tackles for loss (4.0). Like London, he’s a three-year starter who made a freshman splash in 2019. He led the Trojans with 11.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks that year, and had 2.5 tackles for loss against Notre Dame. He has 21 tackles for loss in 22 career games.
Jackson’s status for the game isn’t quite clear, though he was reportedly dressed and participating in practice earlier this week.
2. Defensive problems re-emerge
USC hired former Texas and Houston defensive coordinator Todd Orlando before the 2020 season to fix a unit that gave up the most yards in program history in 2019.
Early returns were positive. The Trojans went 5-1 last year, jumped 28 spots in the national rankings for scoring defense and rose 21 slots in yards per play allowed.
In his second season, though, the defense has devolved into a problem again. USC is allowing 6.18 yards per play, which ranks 106th out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. It ranks 85th in yards per carry allowed (4.36), 99th in sacks per game (1.67) and 110th in opponent passer rating (149.97).
Jackson has three sacks himself. The rest of the team has combined for seven. Only two players have more than seven quarterback pressures.
The Trojans allowed a combined 87 points in home losses to unranked Stanford and Oregon State. Their one calling card is forcing turnovers. They have taken the ball away 10 times in five games, which is tied for 39th nationally. Redshirt junior cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart has been targeted just 15 times this year. He has allowed eight catches and one touchdown while intercepting one pass.
3. Transfer portal time
Now-former head coach Clay Helton understood the pressure he was facing this season and needed immediate roster reinforcements. He went deep into the best resource for them: the transfer portal.
USC added nine transfers from FBS schools this offseason, including eight from Power Five teams. Six of them saw meaningful playing time at their prior schools. Four of them came from Texas.
The return on investment has been mixed. Senior running back Keaontay Ingram, who ran for 1,811 yards in three years at Texas, leads USC with 419 rushing yards. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Memphis transfer and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tahj Washington ranks second on the team in catches (22) and receiving yards (277).
Meanwhile, Texas transfer Jake Smith is out for the season with a foot injury suffered in August. The junior wide receiver had 568 yards and nine touchdowns in two seasons with the Longhorns. Redshirt senior K.D. Nixon had 104 catches for 1,250 yards at Colorado, but has not cracked USC’s wide receiver rotation. He has two catches this year.
USC brought in three defensive players via the transfer portal, but only redshirt freshman safety Xavion Alford (13 tackles, one pass broken up) has made a noticeable impact. He also transferred in from Texas.
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