Let 'The Countdown' begin!

[Pope Flick]

If you asked any Irish fan after Urabn Meyer walked away from their HC offer about how this game is now setup, re: team ranks, coach etc and they would have said it would be a dream come true. How many NFL teams wish they had Weis right now? Sure, they're not 5-0, but I think that WITH that loss they have a chance at the upset here, but it would be a first for this series for ND - they've never beat USC when USC is ranked #1.

 

From the ND website, published after last years loss:

 

*NOTRE DAME-USC SERIES NOTES*

 

# Notre Dame and USC met for the 59th straight season (the only gap in the

series came during World War II, from 1943-45) and the 76th time in the

last 79 years. o Notre Dame now holds a 42-29-5 series edge over the

Trojans, but trails in games at Los Angeles by a 19-17-4 margin.

 

# The series began in 1926, when Knute Rockne became one of the first

Midwestern or Eastern coaches to take his team to the West Coast. The

next four games then alternated between Soldier Field in Chicago and the

Los Angeles Coliseum, with the first game played at Notre Dame Stadium

in 1931.

 

# Notre Dame's 42 wins over USC are the most by a Trojan opponent (12 more

than California's second-most 30). The Trojans' 29 wins over the Irish

are the most by a Notre Dame opponent (four more than Purdue's

second-most 25).

 

# USC is tied with Purdue as the second-most common opponent in Irish

football history, as Notre Dame are playing both for the 76th time this

season. The Notre Dame-Navy series remains the longest in school

history, with the 78th game in that rivalry having taken place on Oct. 16.

 

# Prior to USC's 27-20 overtime win over the Irish in 1996, Notre Dame had

not lost in the previous 13 series meetings (11 straight Irish wins from

1983-'93, a tie in '94, then another Irish win in '95). Notre Dame had a

three-game winning streak vs. USC snapped in 2002, but still has won 15

of the last 22 games (15-6-1) between the two schools, with nine of

those wins against the Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium.

 

# Since 1984, Notre Dame is 6-4-1 against the Trojans at the Los Angeles

Memorial Coliseum.

 

# Since 1965, the ND-USC game has been nationally televised 31 times

(including the 2004 game).

 

# Notre Dame is 3-8-1 against USC in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

when the Trojans are ranked in the top 10. All three Notre Dame

victories (1947, 1966 and 1968) capped national title seasons for the

Irish.

 

# This is the fourth time Notre Dame faced a top-ranked USC team. The

Trojans have won all four encounters when ranked number one (25-0 in

1962, 24-7 in 1967, 45-23 in 1972 and 41-10 in 2004).

 

# Tonight's game marked the seventh time that a potential national title

was at stake for one of the combatants in this rivalry. Six times Notre

Dame has entered the USC game with a shot at a national crown, only to

be defeated (1938, 1948, 1964, 1970, 1974 and 1980) and a seventh chance

was damaged by a tie in 1948. Notre Dame ruined USC's national title

dreams three times: 1947 (38-7), 1952 (9-0) and 1988 (27-10).

 

 

*WITH THE LOSS ...*

 

# USC collects its third consecutive win over Notre Dame, marking the

first time since USC won three straight from 1996-98.

 

# USC improves to 4-1-1 against Notre Dame at the Los Angeles Memorial

Coliseum since 1994.

 

# The Irish have lost consecutive games for the first time in the 2004

season.

 

# Notre Dame falls to 72-37-6 (.652) all-time against Pac-10 teams,

including a 32-24-5 (.566) mark on the road.

 

# Notre Dame drops to 13-6 (.684) in the regular season versus Pac-10

teams since 1998.

 

# Notre Dame drops to 33-15-1 (.684) in the month of November since 1988,

including a 6-5 mark under current head coach Tyrone Willingham.

 

# USC has won its 20th consecutive game, the second-longest streak in

school history (record is 25 from 1931-33). USC had a 23-game unbeaten

streak from 1971-73 that was snapped by Notre Dame (23-14 Irish win at

Notre Dame Stadium in 1973).

 

*NOTRE DAME VS. THE PAC-10 CONFERENCE*

 

# Including tonight's outcome, Notre Dame has won more than 65 percent of

its games versus Pac-10 Conference opponents, with a winning series

record versus nine of the Pac-10 teams and an overall mark of 72-37-6

(.652) in 115 games against Pac-10 schools - including the 1998, 2000,

'02 and '04 wins over Stanford, the '98 and '99 wins over Arizona State,

the '99, '00 and '01 wins over USC, the '03 victory over Washington

State and the '04 win over Washington. Nearly 70 percent of those games

(75) have come versus USC (42-29-5) while another 15 percent have come

against Stanford (13-6-0).

 

# With tonight's outcome, Notre Dame is 17-10-1 (.625) in its last 28

games vs. Pac-10 schools (4-6-1 vs. USC, 7-3 vs. Stanford, 3-0 vs.

Washington, 2-0 vs. Arizona State, 1-0 vs. Washington State, 0-1 vs.

Oregon State), starting with a 1992 victory over USC.

 

*NOTRE DAME SUCCESS FOLLOWING A BYE WEEK* With tonight's outcome, Notre

Dame is 24-4 (.857) in regular season games following a regularly

scheduled bye week since 1984. Nine victories over ranked teams are

included in that success: 17-13 at ninth-ranked Tennessee in 2004, 20-14

at 15th-ranked Pittsburgh in 2003, 24-10 over #19 Army in 1985, 24-19

over #1 Michigan in '89, 31-23 at #19 USC in '92, 31-24 over #1 Florida

State in '93, 54-20 over #16 Washington in '96, 24-6 at #11 LSU in '97

and 34-30 over #23 Oklahoma in '99. Tonight's loss snapped a 15-game

Notre Dame winning streak when coming off a regular-season by week,

dating back to a 23-16 loss to #8 Florida State on Nov. 12, 1994, at the

Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

 

*RANK AND FILE* With tonight's game, the Irish have played 86 games

against ranked opponents since 1987, an average of nearly five games per

season. Notre Dame has posted a record of 45-39-2 (.535) in those games,

including a 23-13-1 (.635) mark against ranked teams at home.

 

*NOTRE DAME VERSUS NO. 1* Tonight's game with USC was Notre Dame's 24th

meeting all-time against an opponent ranked number one in the Associated

Press college football rankings since the Associated Press began its

national collegiate football poll in 1936. The Irish have a record of

8-15-1 (.354) in those 24 meetings. The eight victories is the most by

any school (Miami, Purdue and USC are second with seven, Oklahoma is

third with six). Tonight's game marked Notre Dame's first against a No.

1 opponent since a 27-24 overtime loss to Nebraska on Sept. 9, 2000, at

Notre Dame Stadium. This game marked the fourth time that Notre Dame has

clashed with the Trojans when USC was ranked number one, with USC

winning all four of those contests.

 

That means they're due!!!

[Coffeeman]

I think it could be a great game, but only if USC keeps shooting themselves in the foot. The only team that can really beat them is themselves - its not being cocky, its just a fact - and ND's defense is not that great.

 

If the Trojans avoid the big mistakes made in the first half of the last 3 games, (penalties, turnovers and/or special teams problems,) it will be another blowout...

[Pope Flick]

I think it could be a great game, but only if USC keeps shooting themselves in the foot.  The only team that can really beat them is themselves - its not being cocky, its just a fact - and ND's defense is not that great. 

 

If the Trojans avoid the big mistakes made in the first half of the last 3 games, (penalties, turnovers and/or special teams problems,) it will be another blowout...

 

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Neither team has a stiff D, and ND ran pretty well on them last year.

 

I think if it comes down to stamina, ND will lose a squeaker. Otherwise, this is an 'all bets are off' game if ever there was one. If it was only noise that got to USC on the road the past few weeks, that's one thing. But if it was the PRESSURE from a hostile crowd finally getting to them they're in trouble under Touchdown Jesus.

[Coffeeman]

I think if it comes down to stamina, ND will lose a squeaker.

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That means ND needs to be up by at least 20 at the half. And leave Jesus out of it - they have more important things to worry about up in Heaven - like the victims of hurricanes, earthquakes and the Taliban...

 

Everyone is making so much about Weis' O vs. Carroll's D, but that's only a small part of the equation. Yes, BradyQ can lead ND to score anywhere from 24 to 30 vs. USC's D, but USC will score at least 40-45 vs. ND, and that is the ballgame...