The Irish topped USC, 14-10, last season at Notre Dame Stadium.

Notre Dame Vs. USC Game Notes

Nov. 25, 2014

Notre Dame Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

Gameweek Central

DATE
– Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014

TIME
– 12:35 p.m. PST

SITE (CAPACITY)
– Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (93,607); Los Angeles, California

TELEVISION
– FOX national telecast with Gus Johnson (play by play), Charles Davis (analysis), Molly McGrath (sideline) and Chuck McDonald (producer).
– Notre Dame is 0-2 all-time on FOX. The network has previously broadcast an Irish loss at Stanford in 2013 and a loss to LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl.

RADIO
– IMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. IMG College manages, produces and syndicates the Irish national football radio network. Notre Dame games are broadcast on up to 117 affiliates by Don Criqui (play by play), former Irish great Allen Pinkett (analysis) and Jeff Jeffers (sideline). This broadcast can be heard live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (channel 129).
– The broadcast will be preceded by a one hour pre-game show hosted by Tony Castricone with Criqui, Pinkett and interviews conducted by Jack Nolan.
– All games can be heard in South Bend on News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM and Sunny 101.5 FM.
– ESPN Radio will also air a national broadcast of the game with Bill Rosinski (play by play), David Norrie (analysis), Joe Schad (sideline) and Justin Ware (producer).

TICKETS
– A large crowd is expected at USC. Of the last 13 Notre Dame games at USC, 11 drew at least 80,000.
– Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 274 of its previous 321 games (.854) overall. The Irish have played before 645 sellouts in 922 total games (.700) since 1930. Notre Dame has sold out each of its last 243 home games and 291 of its last 292 overall.

WEB SITES, SOCIAL MEDIA
– Notre Dame (UND.com…@NDFootball), USC (USCTrojans.com…@USC_Athletics)

POLLS
– Notre Dame received a vote in the Amway Coaches’ poll but did not in the Associated Press poll. USC is receiving votes in both polls. It is the first time the Irish did not receive an AP poll vote since the final poll of the 2011 season, ending a run of 46 consecutive polls receiving votes.

SERIES INFO
– Notre Dame and USC will be meeting for the 86th time in series history. The Irish lead the all-time series, 45-35-5, but the Trojans hold a 21-19-4 advantage in Los Angeles.
– This rivalry began in 1926, when legendary Irish head coach Knute Rockne became the first Midwestern coach to take a team to the West Coast (Notre Dame won that game, 13-12) and the teams have met every season since (taking 1943-45 off due to travel restrictions during World War II).
– For more information on the series, turn to pages 3-8.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
– This is the first time that Notre Dame and USC have played during the day in Los Angeles since 2000.

COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
12… Senior QB Everett Golson has eight rushing touchdowns this year, tying for 12th among his signal-calling peers in the Football Bowl Subdivision. (Page 20)

11… The Irish have only had four players (DL Jarron Jones, CB Cole Luke, DL Isaac Rochell and LB Jaylon Smith) start all 11 games on defense. Overall, 18 different players have started a game on defense this year. (Page 8)

10… Notre Dame’s balanced offensive attack has only 10 more rushing attempts (408) than passing attempts (398) in 2014. (Page 17)

9… Nine different true freshmen have played on defense for Notre Dame in 2014 with last week’s addition of DL Jay Hayes. Of the team’s 738 tackles, players with remaining eligibility have made 668 (90.5 percent). (Page 17)

8… With a win, Brian Kelly would become the first coach to begin his Notre Dame career with five-straight eight-win seasons. (Page 11)

7… Senior QB Everett Golson ranks seventh in the nation with 29 TD passes in 2014. (Page 19)

6… Senior TE Ben Koyack is the sixth semifinalist for the Mackey Award from Notre Dame since 2004. No other school has more than three over that span. (Page 22)

5… Sophomore LB Jaylon Smith is one of five finalists for the Butkus Award. It is the fifth time that the Irish have had a finalist for the Butkus Award and the first since Manti Te’o won it in 2012. (Page 24)

4… Of the 20 true road games played by Notre Dame under head coach Brian Kelly, this will be just the fourth played during the day (Pittsburgh in 2011, Air Force in 2013 and Arizona State in 2014).

3… Notre Dame aims to retain the jeweled shillelagh, annually awarded to the Notre Dame-USC victor, for the third consecutive year. (Page 7)

2… In 86 meetings with USC, this is just the second time that Notre Dame has entered on a three-game losing streak. The other came in 1960 when the Irish beat USC, 17-0, in Los Angeles, to snap an eight-game skid. (Page 4)

1… Notre Dame has an interception in each of its last 14 games, the longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision. (Page 25)

0… The Irish have not lost to USC in Los Angeles under head coach Brian Kelly. The Irish claimed a 20-16 win in 2010 and a 22-13 victory in 2012. (Page 4)