One of the historic blue blood rivalries in the sport will be renewed in South Bend on Saturday as the No. 10 USC Trojans hit the road to face the No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The 94th battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will air on NBC while being streamed on Peacock.
USC (6-0, 4-0 Pac-12) need three overtimes to survive a potential upset big by Arizona last week, escaping the L.A. Coliseum with a 43-41 victory. The Trojans were down 17-0 in the second quarter before storming back into the contest and scrapped it out with the Wildcats for the rest of regulation. After the two teams traded touchdowns through the first two overtime periods, quarterback Caleb Williams ran in the two-point conversion in the third OT to put SC on top. Needing a stop, linebacker Mason Cobb stuffed Zona running back DJ Williams to seal the win for the Trojans. Williams finished the game with three rushing touchdowns and a passing TD in the victory.
Notre Dame (5-2) had a bad time in Louisville last Saturday, falling to the Cardinals in a 33-20 road loss. The Fighting Irish found themselves down 27-13 in the fourth quarter before the wheels came completely off, committing three of their five turnovers over the course of the final period. Quarterback Sam Hartman didn’t have his best night, going 22-38 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
SP+ Rankings
USC: 9 overall, 1 offense, 61 defense
Notre Dame: 12 overall, 24 offense, 10 defense
Injury update
USC
WR Zachariah Branch – Questionable (Undisclosed)
DL Korey Foreman – Questionable (Undisclosed)
CB Domani Jackson – Questionable (Head)
WR Raleek Brown – Out indefinitely (Undisclosed)
Notre Dame
TE Eli Raridon – Out (Knee)
S Thomas Harper – Questionable (Undisclosed)
K Chris Salerno – Out for season (Leg)
ATS/Total
Against The Spread in 2023
USC: 2-4 ATS
Notre Dame: 4-2-1 ATS
Total in 2023
USC: Over 5-1
Notre Dame: Over 3-4
Team Pace
USC: 2.30 plays per minute of offense
Notre Dame: 1.99 plays per minute of offense
Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Notre Dame -2.5
Total: 60.5
Moneyline: Notre Dame -142, USC +120
Opening line: Notre Dame -1.5
Opening total: 62.5
Weather
46 degrees, cloudy, 14 MPH winds NNE with 30 MPH wind gusts
Our Best Bet for USC vs. Notre Dame
Under 60.5
Notre Dame is already playing its eighth game of the season and there has to be a level of fatigue wearing before finally going on a bye next week. Still, the Irish should be able to get up at home with SC coming to town and their defense should be up to the challenge of going up against Caleb Williams. They gave up 38 points in Los Angeles last year and with being at home this time around, I think they can make things a little bit more difficult for the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Give me the under to barely cash here.