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What They Are Saying: Notre Dame's Perfect Regular Season

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Blue & Gold Illustrated takes a look at what is being said across the country when it comes to Notre Dame's 24-17 win over USC this past Saturday and finishing the regular season unbeaten.

Michael McKnight, Sports Illustrated — Notre Dame Gets Past Final Regular-Season Obstacle and Ends USC's Season to Forget

“It did not go quite as predicted. Rivalry games rarely do. But when the clock struck all zeroes at the L.A. Coliseum on Saturday night, Notre Dame had defeated USC, 24-17, to complete an undefeated season and launch itself into the four-team college football playoff. “All year, we talked about just taking it day by day, week by week,” quarterback Ian Book said in the stadium tunnel immediately afterward. “Now that we’re [headed to the playoff], it’s crazy to realize how fast the season went by.”

“Championship seasons don’t go as predicted either. And if this campaign ends in a title for the Irish (12–0), it will have seen as many speed bumps as Saturday night’s victory. The Irish replaced their popular senior quarterback, Brandon Wimbush, three games into the season, with Book, an untested junior. Then they lit up the scoreboard for three weeks before eking out close wins over Pittsburgh and Northwestern.

“They appeared to hit their stride heading into Saturday night’s showdown at the Coliseum, thrashing Florida State and Syracuse by a combined score of 78–16, but looked entirely mortal at times against a USC team that had lost four of its last five games, and was trying to block out the cries from its fan base to fire head coach Clay Helton.

“Notre Dame’s defense allowed 244 passing yards in the first half to the Trojans, 14 fewer than it had given up, on average, in its first 11 games. And there was the Irish’s mysterious lack of commitment to the running game early on, as if Notre Dame had not seen the video of USC being gashed last week by lowly UCLA.

“Thankfully for the Irish, there were plenty of big plays to fill those deficits."

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune - Let's ditch the hate and appreciate playoff-bound Notre Dame's 12-0 season

“I’ve seen your vitriol for Notre Dame on Twitter. If you don’t win every game by at least three touchdowns, you’re trash. Notre Dame had the nerve to beat Pittsburgh by a mere five points during midterms. Don’t roll your eyes. Yes, Notre Dame had an academic misconduct scandal on Kelly’s watch, thanks to a rogue tutor. Yes, Notre Dame still is one of those schools where the players can’t major in Fruit Appreciation.

“Other fans rip the Irish for being independent; when did that all-American word become a bad thing? If your favorite school had a chance to have its own TV contract and recruit from sea to shining sea, don’t you think it would?

“Give Notre Dame its due. The Irish took everyone’s best shot.

“USC had no pressure Saturday night and played like it. JT Daniels completed an outrageous 16 of 17 passes in the first quarter. But the Irish stripped two Trojans receivers and pounded away with tailback Dexter Williams.

“‘Gritty,’ Kelly said in describing the performance. ‘It wasn’t perfect.’

“Unlike, say, the season thus far.”

Josh Peter, USA TODAY - Notre Dame rewarded for showing sanity, sticking with Brian Kelly through tough times

“It’s the most frenzied, if not popular, time of the college football season. Not bowl games and the playoffs, but rather watching a slew of head coaches get fired, watching would-be saviors get hired, only to later watch many of those would-be saviors get fired.

“At last, a sign of sanity rewarded. “Notre Dame likely clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff with its 24-17 victory over USC Saturday at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum helped provide refreshing perspective of the coaching-carousel madness.

“Inside and outside the USC locker room after the game, reporters asked questions about the status of Trojans coach Clay Helton. Understandably. Because despite going 10-3 in 2016 and 11-3 in 2017 — his first two full seasons as USC’s coach — Helton appears to be in danger of losing his job after the Trojans finished the 2018 season with a record of 5-7.

“The USC faithful — especially those who have lost faith in Helton — would have benefited from checking out the scene outside the Notre Dame locker room. Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly was soaking up the accolades after his third-ranked team finished the regular season 12-0.

“This happened just two years after Notre Dame finished 4-8 in a disappointing season that, fittingly enough, ended right here. This is where Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick insisted he would stick with Kelly despite a faction of Notre Dame fans calling for a new coach.”

Tom Fornelli, CBS Sports — Notre Dame beats USC, states CFB Case

"Here are four takeaways from the Irish victory.

"1. It's hard to imagine Notre Dame being left out of the playoff: I mean, there's certainly a precedent for it to happen. It was just last year that an undefeated UCF team was left out of the CFP, but this is a very different situation. The Knights never climbed higher than No. 12 in the rankings before being left out. Notre Dame debuted at No. 4 in the first CFP Rankings of the season, moved up to No. 3 a week later and have been there ever since. With wins over Michigan, Syracuse and Stanford, as well as ACC Coastal champion Pitt, a logical path for the committee to suddenly deem Notre Dame isn't a top-four team doesn't seem to exist. But it could happen, so if you're a Notre Dame fan, maybe don't pop the champagne bottles yet -- keep them on ice.

"2. The Irish offense goes as Dexter Williams goes: Book has received a lot of credit for the revival of the Notre Dame offense, and he deserves plenty of it. Ever since he took over as the starter for Brandon Wimbush, this offense has gone to another level. But it's not a coincidence that Book's ascension to the starting job came at the same time Williams got healthy and returned to the starting lineup.

"Notre Dame seemed allergic to its run game for much of the first half as its offensive line was getting destroyed by USC's front. Then Williams started to find some room with the help of a few screen passes, and Notre Dame's offense kicked into gear. That's been the case most of the season. Book gives the offense a higher ceiling than Wimbush, but Williams is the one building the wall to rest that ceiling on.

"3. Brian Kelly probably doesn't get the credit he deserves: Think about where this Notre Dame program was before it hired Brian Kelly. The school last won a national title under Lou Holtz in 1988, and it stayed extremely relevant to the national title picture under Holtz through the 1993 season. But then things started to slip, and Notre Dame transformed from national title contender to irrelevancy. Sure, once in a while it would pop up and have a good season, but most seasons were just campaigns that couldn't seem to live up to preseason expectations, or that Notre Dame mystique.

"By the time Kelly was hired in 2010, he was taking over a program that had managed to win 10 games in a season only two times in the previous 16 years. Now, Kelly hasn't just managed to pick up his fourth such season, but he's gone undefeated through two regular seasons. Notre Dame will now play for its second national title in the past seven seasons, and while it will be considered an underdog, I think most people would agree that this 2018 team is much better than that 2012 team.

"4. It will be interesting to see where USC goes from here: There are certainly whispers that Clay Helton could be fired after this disappointing season. They started a few weeks ago and only grew louder following last week's loss to UCLA. Now, after losing to Notre Dame, the Trojans finish the season 5-7. It's the first time they've missed a bowl game due to their record (NCAA sanctions kept them out in 2010 and 2011) since going 5-7 under Paul Hackett in 2000. Hackett was fired after the season and replaced by Pete Carroll. All Carroll did was win two national titles and seven conference titles in nine seasons. Of course, USC has been chasing that success since Carroll left for the NFL following the 2009 season, and should USC decide to move on from Helton, they'll be hiring their fourth coach of the decade."

Mark Schlabach, ESPN — College football Power Rankings: More drama, surprises in Week 13

"The Fighting Irish all but punched their first CFP ticket with a 24-17 victory at USC on Saturday night. The result was a little closer than expected, and the Irish had to come back from a 10-point deficit in the first half, but they only needed to win. It's the fourth time in the past 50 years that they've finished a regular season unbeaten. The Irish have now done it twice under coach Brian Kelly; they went 12-0 in 2012 before losing to Alabama 42-14 in the BCS National Championship. Kelly is only the fourth coach in Notre Dame history to have multiple unbeaten regular seasons, joining Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian. Quarterback Ian Book threw for a career-high 352 yards against the Trojans, becoming the first Notre Dame player to throw for at least 300 against USC in the past 20 years."

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Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable

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