Creature vs. Creature: A Trojan Perspective on Notre Dame-USC

This Saturday, college football's greatest intersectional rivalry will take place in South Bend, Indiana. The forecast is cold and cloudy with a 100 percent chance of rain on one team's BCS parade. Will it rain on Trey Bradley's parade?

The loser of this game will probably not play in a BCS bowl—Notre Dame won't go because the media will dump them in the rankings and USC won't go because they still have some brutal conference road games ahead of them.

Irish head coach Charlie Weis, in casually resplendent words, said "Winning would do wonders for my spirits." Not only would it do wonders for his spirits, it would do wonders for his job security.

For the second straight year, Weis' resume of wins has come under fire—his Irish have beaten just a sprinkling of teams with a winning record and have dropped four straight games to the Trojans.

Ironically, Tyrone Willingham's players (Washington) have beaten USC this year—the sting of that is on a lot of Irish fans' faces. It's like walking on Michigan Ave. in February without a muffler in -30 degree wind chill. Brutally painful.

Expectations for a BCS Bowl are high on both sides, but while USC is in somewhat of a rebuilding mode on defense, the Irish are loaded on both sides of the ball. It's do-or-die for Weis. No excuses.

So who or what will give Notre Dame the biggest problem?

Simply put, the Irish have to figure out how to contain the USC backfield. The Irish are ranked No. 68 against the run, giving up over 139 yards per game. USC, still breaking in a true freshman quarterback in Matt Barkley, would love to establish a strong running game to keep the D honest, and thus open up deep ball possibilities with a Barkley-to-Ronald "Rojo" Johnson combo.

USC is ranked No. 17 in rushing offense, averaging over 208 yards a game. The Trojans' game plan will be simple—keep Clausen and Co. off the field by sustaining long, clock-chewing drives that wear down the defense and throw deep every now and then with Rojo (collarbone) back in the mix.

With emotions running high over Stafon Johnson's serious neck and throat injury, the running backs are going to be highly-motivated to win one for Stafon—the team will have stickers that read, "Sta Fight on 13" on their helmets. The Trojan horses will be running fast out of the gate—can the Irish D corral them?

What will be USC's biggest weakness against the Irish?

While the Trojans have a very experienced secondary, their linebacking corps aren't as long in the tooth. Notre Dame is ranked No. 60 in the country in rushing offense, but No. 8 in passing. Obviously, Weis would like a more balanced offense, but the pass will be their main weapon. 

The question is, can Clausen expose the young linebackers with middle routes, bubble screens and slants? The possibility of going long against the Trojans is there, but passing touchdowns against USC are not going to be easy—the Trojans are the only team in FBS to not surrender a passing touchdown.

The Trojans' D relies on a bend, don't break philosophy, so Clausen should be able to throw for a lot of yards in the middle. However, how many receivers are going to hang on to the ball when Taylor Mays is running full speed at them, licking his chops? Can we nominate TE Kyle Rudolph? He's tough as nails, has good YAC stats and between Rudolph and Golden Tate, can keep the secondary guessing.

While the Trojans' chink in their armor may be the short pass, it also may be a strength if Mays cheats out of his safety position. And Nick Perry blitzes. Clausen under pressure is one experiment that Notre Dame doesn't want to repeat—he has a tendency to throw the ball up for grabs under duress. While an average-sized receiver may catch that ball over a 5-11 DB, he won't over a 6-3 Taylor Mays.

What Weis needs to capitalize on is the Trojans' paltry third down conversion percentage—they are ranked No. 113 with a pathetic 28.8 percent success rate. If the Irish D can hold USC to a field goal in the red zone, the Trojans will get frustrated, especially after a long sustaining drive.

The pressure is on Weis and Clausen

Weis' internship is over—if he can't beat USC, he is toast. All the gorgeous recruiting classes and the fluffy schedules in the past two years were there for him to go to the National Championship games. He has the talent—this team is one of the most talented teams in the country. Clausen should be the No. 1 Heisman candidate and Golden Tate is a special wide receiver.

But having a ton of talent is like going to the butcher and buying filet mignon. If you buy it, bring it home and over-cook it, it doesn't taste any different than a cheap steak.

Pete Carroll owns Notre Dame. This doesn't sit well with the Irish faithful. Their overall series lead is shrinking fast, and moreover, losing to USC an eighth time might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back. The coffers are full and Jimmy Clausen may reconsider sticking around next year if Weis is relieved of his coaching duties.

Weis' team is loaded with filet mignon, it's time to see if he knows how to serve it.

Prediction

USC 31, Notre Dame 24