Notre Dame-USC: Irish Have Much to Fight for Against the Trojans

This Saturday, Notre Dame must wake up the echos.

More specifically, they must channel the echos from 1977, when both the Irish and the Trojans entered the game with one loss. The Irish were heavy underdogs at home, with a junior quarterback with rising stature. The Irish went on to win the game wearing green and ended the year with a National Title.

This year, a title may be out of reach, but a season of promise and rebirth for a once mighty program would become reality with a win over the Trojans.

Since 2001, when Bob Davie's Irish handed Pete Carroll his only double-digit defeat the Irish haven't had much to cheer about in this series. Beginning the following year with a 44-13 pounding at the Coliseum, the Trojans began dominating the Irish.

Only once during USC's current seven game win streak was a game decided by less than 30 points. USC has become the NFL's minor league team, while Notre Dame has suffered through several school-record worsts and have seen the luster of a once dominant program fade.

Since the 2001 Irish victory, Notre Dame has recorded four losing seasons, while USC has won two National Championships and fielded three Heisman winners.

Notre Dame need look no farther than across the field to find inspiration to reverse this trend.

A mere 10 years ago, the rivalry looked quite different.

Notre Dame won 11 consecutive contests against the Trojans between 1983 and 1993, and it would take a last second field goal in 1996 to finally beat the Irish. Including a 1994 tie, the Irish were 15-3-1 before Pete Carroll wore the Cardinal and Gold.

During that span, USC languished in mediocrity similar to that of the Irish for the last decade. A once mighty and proud program fell on hard times, and fought its way out.

Since 2001 there has not been a program more consistently highly-ranked than USC. No program has delivered more players to the NFL. None have received more attention or accolades.

USC is what Notre Dame so desperately wants to be.

USC is what Notre Dame is very close to being again.

More now that any time over the last seven years, Notre Dame has talent. Charlie Weis has gone into Pete Carroll's back yard and managed to wrangle a few players away, including Junior Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Freshman Linebacker Manti Te'o. Notre Dame has amassed their fastest and deepest depth chart since Lou Holtz plucked blue grass from the Notre Dame Stadium turf.

Charlie Weis has recruited horses.

But it has yet to bring results where it matters most. Against Top 25 opponents in Weis's tenure Notre Dame is 5-11.

Weis's predecessors did little to help the Irish perception. Bob Davie's teams consistently underachieved, Ty Willingham failed to fill two recruiting classes and had two of the worst consecutive years in Notre Dame history. In between them was the George O'Leary mess.

What was once the premier program in college sport descended into total collapse.

A win Saturday would be huge step in the right direction.

USC enters the contest ranked in the Top 10 despite a loss to an unranked Washington team that Notre Dame defeated two weeks ago. USC is without Senior running back Stafon Johnson following a bizarre weight lifting accident, and is playing a true freshman at QB. The Trojans have also had to replace an entire linebacker corps that sent four members to the NFL.

Even beating a young and injury-weakened USC squad would show that Notre Dame has grown immensely since last year's 38-3 beating. It would also give Notre Dame a win against a Top 10 opponent, a winning team, and in a game that most don't expect them to win.

The Irish come in riding a wave of excitement and frustration, enduring four consecutive games that were not decided until the last minute. Notre Dame re-entered the rankings at No. 25 during their bye week, and are still trying to recoup from the injury to stand-out receiver Michael Floyd.

The biggest concern for Notre Dame entering Saturday's game is on the defensive side of the football. The offense is putting 32 points on the board every week, but the defense has shown an inability to pressure the quarterback and stop the run effectively.

Defensive Coordinator John Tenuda's blitz happy defense has yet to yield the results that were expected. The only thing it has done consistently is pull linebackers out of coverage and overload the Notre Dame secondary.

The defense has worn down late as well, forcing late game heroics from Clausen.

The good news for the Irish is that if USC has a weakness it is that they do not have the offense the have had in years past. They also had the mild advantage of a USC "dress rehearsal" in playing former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian's Washington Huskies.

The Trojan defense will pose the biggest challenge of the season for the Irish offense, as Taylor Mays can all but erase Golden Tate from the Irish offense.

Notre Dame will need Armando Allen and Robert Hughes to run effectively, and hope that they can find production out of Freshman wide-out Shaquille Evans. Without Floyd, USC could be able to avoid committing a safety to covering Tate, and leave help to keep tight end Kyle Rudolph from having a big impact.

More than anything, Notre Dame needs to play smart football.

Take points when they are there. Punt to gain field position. Prevent penatlites. Protect the football.

All to often it's self-inflicted wounds that sink the Irish. They must play mistake free football to win.

And win they can. For the first time in years, the outcome is in doubt.

Several things aren't in doubt.

Notre Dame is a large home underdog. College Gameday will be in Dallas Texas for the Red River Shootout. Lee Corso, Mark May, and every one not named Holtz will pick USC to win.

Until Notre Dame beats USC, they will not get the respect they feel they should. Their wins can to this point can be in part dismissed because they have been close, and the competition has had some ugly losses. Video-game like stats posted by Clausen and Tate can be attributed to playing weak defenses.

A win against USC ends all of that. It proves that Notre Dame is once again a relevant topic in the college football discussion. It proves that the program is headed in the right direction.

More than anything it proves that Notre Dame are worth respect.