USC vs. Notre Dame: 5 Halftime Adjustments the Fighting Irish Must Make

We should be in for a great finish as the 4-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the 5-1 USC Trojans under the lights in South Bend. In the 83rd meeting of this historic rivalry, coach Brian Kelly and the Irish are looking to slow down USC QB Matt Barkley and come out on top in their first home night game in 21 years. 

Here are five halftime adjustments the Irish need to make in order to comeback in the second half. 

Step Up 3rd-Down D

In the second half, the Irish must step up their third-down run defense. On the Trojans' first scoring drive, ND failed to get stops on three crucial third-down runs straight up the gut. USC's O-Line has been surprisingly dominant in the first half and if the Irish want to win this game, they must put pressure up the middle and get stops in crunch time. 

Watch Robert Woods 

ND needs to make sure they have coverage on WR Robert Woods. The Trojan's WR has prime-time speed and will continue to kill the Irish in the slot with quick screens. In the second half, Notre Dame must address Woods by continuing to jam him at the line of scrimmage and making sure he is in double coverage. 

Red-Zone Defense

The Irish need to come up big in the red zone in the second half. In particular, ND needs to watch out for play-action from Barkley, as USC's first two TDs came on easy play-fake passes. 

Take Advantage of Single Coverage (Michael Floyd)

In the second half, the Irish should try to take a shot at the Trojans' DBs. Notre Dame must take advantage when USC has single coverage on their receivers and should consider letting QB Tommy Rees unload on a couple deep throws down the sidelines to WR Michael Floyd. 

Get to 3rd-and-Manageable 

The Irish need to focus on creating short third-down situations in the second half. ND needs to cut down on negative yardage plays and try to get solid gains on early downs. They need to start pounding RBs Jonas Gray and Cierre Wood up the middle or looking to their receivers for easy, short gains.