USC vs. Notre Dame: Win Puts Trojans in Top 25

The Trojans proved the naysayers wrong, and beat the nine-point favorite Fighting Irish. This was a convincing win with USC dominating every part of this game. The Fighting Irish had three pivotal turnovers in the final four possessions of the game that proved costly.

Illinois, Georgia Tech and Washington were all teams in the bottom half of the BCS rankings who all lost and will most likely not be ranked this coming week. So, USC entering the Top 25 would only be fitting. 

The USC Trojans went into South Bend and won 31-17. The Trojans dominated every statistical category in this game. They had 219 yards on the ground with running backs Curtis McNeal and Marc Tyler putting pressure on Notre Dame’s defense all night. It looks like coach Lane Kiffin should go with a two-headed running back attack for the rest of the season to be successful.  

Quarterback Matt Barkley had a great game with 224 yards, three touchdowns and zero turnovers. He looked calm and relaxed in the pocket doing what he wanted against an Irish defense who couldn’t get to him all night. There were subtle shoulder and pump fakes throughout the game that kept the Irish secondary unbalanced.

Barkley continues to step up in high pressured games and is looking better on every possession. He is looking more like an NFL quarterback with every passing game. It would be nice to see Barkley come back for his senior season, as the cuffs will be removed and this team can compete for a national title game.

Wide receiver Robert Woods came back from an abysmal game against Cal last week to put on a show with 12 receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns while being double covered the whole game. This kid is doing something special, and nobody is really talking about him. Woods is unstoppable and I am not sure any team in the Pac-12 can stop him. He is probably the only person who can slow himself down.  

We all knew that the passing game was one of the best in the nation, but the Trojans came into South Bend with a lot of question marks on the team that included the offensive line and the secondary.  

The offensive line deserves most of the glory in this game by finally getting the running game going and keeping Barkley upright for most of the game. Notre Dame’s defense is led by one of the best linebackers in the country in Manti Te'o, who continually had trouble getting any type of penetration and stopping the run.

This was the first time this season that the offensive line moved the defense backwards on running plays. The Trojans can be unstoppable as this line continues to improve and mature. 

The Trojan defense played fast and was dominate. Sophomore cornerback Nickell Robey completely shut down one of the best receivers in the country in Michael Floyd. He had one interception and had numerous pass breakups. Linebacker Dion Bailey was absolutely reading everything on the field. Being smaller really helps Bailey get to spots faster than most linebackers would. This defense looked like one of the best in the country against Notre Dame tonight and should be better with each coming week. 

After watching this performance, how could this team not be in the Top 25? The running game is starting to get going and the defense is maturing at a fast rate. This team has as much talent as any other team in the Top 25 minus LSU and Alabama.

This was a great win for the team and the fans, who have been riddled by the NCAA probation. Next week, the Trojans face Stanford in a tough matchup and will prove to the world that they belong with the top teams.