Notre Dame Falls Short to USC: Where Do the Irish Go From Here?

Notre Dame's chances of taking USC into overtime sputtered on the five-yard line when the clock ran out, giving the Trojans a 34-27 win.  It was their eighth consecutive win over the Irish in the country's most notable inter-sectional rivalry.

Notre Dame overcame USC's 34-14 fourth quarter lead to make the game appear closer than the numbers indicate.

After holding a 13-7 lead at halftime, USC was unstoppable in the second half and scored on their first three drives.  Although Notre Dame was able to put up three second-half touchdowns drives of their own, two of them were clearly "penalty-aided."

One of those penalties was an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction against a USC defensive lineman for what the officials indicated was "taunting."  This came after he sacked Jimmy Clausen on third down midway through the third quarter.

The 15-yard penalty extended Notre Dame's drive and they eventually scored to make it 20-14. 

Notre Dame was trailing 34-14 before they put up two fourth quarter scores to make it 34-27.  They got the ball back again for what could have been one of the most remarkable comebacks in their history.

USC (5-1) was pushing Notre Dame (4-2) around most of the afternoon and recorded five Clausen sacks.  When Clausen wasn't on the ground, he was throwing the ball away.

On offense, USC racked up over 500 total yards to Notre Dame's 367.  USC's Matt Barkley passed for 380 yards to Jimmy Clausen's 285, and as the great Travel8 of Bleacher Report noted, most of Clausen's yardage came against USC's prevent defense.

WHAT CAN BE TAKEN FROM THIS GAME

This was supposed to be the measuring stick.  The USC game was supposed answer the question, "How far back have the Irish come?"

As things turned out, the only conclusion drawn from yesterday's loss is that the question was still not answered.  Folks are still wondering if this outcome indicates that the Irish are back or if it was still another  "signature loss" for Charlie Weis and Co., another sign that nothing has changed.

The Irish showed great fight, but they failed to stop the Trojans from scoring at will in the second half.

They showed they could put up 27 points on a defense that was allowing eight points per game, but they failed to keep Jimmy Clausen from having to run for cover in too many passing situations.

When compared to 2008's (38-3) and 2007's (38-0) defeats, Irish fans have to feel encouraged as they go over the game in their minds.

WHERE THIS TEAM STANDS AT THE MIDWAY POINT

Half the season is complete, and after six games, how good is this football team? 

The Michigan loss was disappointing, the three fourth quarter comebacks (Michigan State, Purdue, and Washington) and the USC performance were encouraging.

Playing Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Washington so close was not what the Irish faithful had wanted.

A record of 4-2 might be considered an improvement and a solid start...something to build on, but the lofty goal of a BCS game, although unlikely, is still intact.

WHERE THE SEASON GOES FROM HERE

The relative success or failure of the Notre Dame's 2009 football season is going to be measured over the second half of the season.

With six games left to play, Irish fans are asking themselves, "can this team finish 10-2?"  Irish detractors are convinced they'll lose five of these six games, and objective prognosticators are predicting something in the middle.

Other than Washington State, five of the remaining games will not be easy!  Navy (5-2), Stanford (4-3, 3-2), and UConn (4-2, 1-1) are a lot better than thought when Phil Steele and the like were ranking the Irish in their preseason top 25.

Navy doesn't make mistakes, Stanford runs the football well, and if you punch UConn in the mouth, they'll punch you back, maybe harder.

If Pittsburgh (6-1, 3-0) wins against USF and Syracuse, they might be that "signature game" the Irish are looking to win, but the Boston College game will be the most telling game of the season.

Boston College (5-2, 3-2) comes to Notre Dame Stadium next week.  This is a team that is weak enough to give up 48 points to Virginia Tech and lose to Clemson.  They are strong enough to handle FSU and put up 52 points up on North Carolina State.

Notre Dame has to win this game and they have to win it handily.  If it comes down to another fourth quarter nail-biter, it would likely indicate that this Notre Dame team doesn't have what it takes to win 10 games in 2009.

I say this because winning the last three games of the season (@Pittsburgh, UConn & @Stanford) appears to be a very tough assignment for any team in the country, including most of the teams in the top 25.

EXTRA POINTS

1.  Yesterday seemed to put the end to the Jimmy Clausen Heisman talk.  His Heisman chances aren't dead...they're somewhere between intensive care and critical.

It's ironic that in half the games he's played the opposing quarterback was the one that raised most eyebrows.  Tate  Forcier pulled out the Michigan game, Jake Locker showed why Washington couldn't win a game last year without him, and USC's Matt Barkley.

The only thing to be said about Barkley is that if the NFL was allowed to draft kids his age, he'd be "numero uno."  He looked like a pro yesterday. This kid is ready right now!

2. In an article written last week entitled "Does Notre Dame Have the mUSCle" I predicted the Irish would cover the spread and lose by eight points.  They lost by seven;  I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time.