8:00 kickoff at the Coliseum on ABC.

Notre Dame's 27-3 victory over Army earned them bowl eligibility. Meanwhile, the Trojans got pounded by the Beavers in Corvallis by a score of 36-7. Despite the 7-4 record, there will be no postseason for USC due to off the field issues. Trojan QB Matt Barkley is done for the season after suffering a high left ankle sprain against Oregon State. I'm guessing Mitch Mustain will get the nod for USC's last 2 games (ND, UCLA).

Notre Dame hasn't tasted victory in this rivalry since 2001. Bob Davie was the coach then. Yeah, it's been that long. That's 8 straight wins in the rivalry for Southern California. That's also called getting owned. In fact, this awful stretch (vs. USC) for the Irish started back in 2002 when Carson Palmer cemented his Heisman campaign by lighting up the 1-loss Irish (to that point) to the tune of 44-13. Palmer threw for 425 yards and 4 TD's against what had been a fairly stingy defense that season. Of course we all remember the "Bush Push" game from 2005.

A win vs. USC would be huge for Notre Dame's program. Even if the Trojans are "down" and have a postseason ban and their starting QB is out......I don't care. Just win, baby. When your rival has been owning you for this long (and it's usually a wide margin of victory), you just get a win any way you can and offer no apologies or sympathy afterward.

I think ND can get it done this year against USC. They have some confidence after beating Utah and Army quite handily. USC might be reeling now after getting crushed and losing Barkley. I'm sure Kiffin will pull out all the stops. ND's run defense is pretty good unless they're facing Navy's option attack. USC can run the ball (26th ranked rushing offense in the country). Any chance Ian Williams can play Saturday evening? That would provide a lift for the defense. I'm expecting a heavy dose of USC's Marc Tyler (I think it came down to USC and Notre Dame when he was being recruited) and maybe even a few trick plays.

Cierre Wood ran the ball very well vs. Army last night. Tommy Rees rebounded well after throwing a pick in the endzone on ND's 1st drive. Irish TE Tyler Eifert had a very nice game as well. It just seems like the time is right for ND to get back on the right side of things in this rivalry.

Thoughts, opinions, etc.

GO IRISH!

Thoughts?? ...just one....you are delusional and need therapy.

killer_ewok;569088 wrote:A win vs. USC would be huge for Notre Dame's program. Even if the Trojans are "down" and have a postseason ban and their starting QB is out......I don't care. Just win, baby. When your rival has been owning you for this long (and it's usually a wide margin of victory), you just get a win any way you can and offer no apologies or sympathy afterward.

Well, heading into whatever bowl game the Irish get invited to, a true 7-5 winning record would make it more interesting at least. But I have to tell ya, the fact that a 6-5 Notre Dame squad facing a 7-4 USC team and calling a victory over the Trojans as being "huge" for the program tells you where Notre Dame football currently resides in major college football.

I loathe Notre Dame almost as much as Michigan, but college football just hasn't been quite the same without the Irish and Wolverines near the top of the heap.

Tiernan;569093 wrote:Thoughts?? ...just one....you are delusional and need therapy.

I'm gonna need therapy alright. Physical therapy after I break my foot off in your troll ass!

In all seriousness though, you're entitled to your opinion......and nobody takes you seriously anyways.

believer;569094 wrote:Well, heading into whatever bowl game the Irish get invited to, a true 7-5 winning record would make it more interesting at least. But I have to tell ya, the fact that a 6-5 Notre Dame squad facing a 7-4 USC team and calling a victory over the Trojans as being "huge" for the program tells you where Notre Dame football currently resides in major college football at the moment.

I loathe Notre Dame almost as much as Michigan, but college football just hasn't been quite the same without the Irish and Wolverines near the top of the heap.

Well, I think it's pretty obvious (and well documented) that Notre Dame's program has plummeted to depths not seen before in the last several years. I don't think any remotely reasonable Irish fan would deny that. And when you've been on the wrong side of a rivalry EIGHT straight times, most of them being ass whippings......yes, it most definitely will be a big/huge win for them if they can do it. Put it in perspective and I think it would most certainly be a huge win for the Irish program. Gotta get that monkey off their back. And USC has been a fucking gorilla.

Barkley done aside, I still think the overall talent level, the fact they're at home and have hotter cheerleaders means a W for USC.

I think ND has a good shot at winning. They've looked pretty impressive in their wins the past 2 weeks, even though the teams werent anything special. And USC looked like total shit against oregon state last night, not to mention barkely is done

ytownfootball;569101 wrote:Barkley done aside, I still think the overall talent level, the fact they're at home and have hotter cheerleaders means a W for USC.

You would. Scoundrel.

I think (and am really praying that) the Irish can pull this one off. A 7-5 record would be huge going into a bowl game...and would definitely provide a really strong building block to go off of for next season.

New coaches on both sidelines this year. I despised Poodle because he has owned the Irish for years. I hope we can welcome Kiffin to this rivalry with a nice big smack in the mouth.

Go Irish!

killer_ewok;569130 wrote:You would. Scoundrel.

Ehh...ya both can't lose, too bad though.

I despise Kiffin more than ND if that helps.

ytownfootball;569135 wrote:Ehh...ya both can't lose, too bad though.

I despise Kiffin more than ND if that helps.

Your scoundrel status remains, buddy. I'm going to need to see a "Go Irish" from you to change it.

<<<<<<<<<<<projectile vomits

ND is right there for 3 quarters. USC pulls away late to win by 10.

ytownfootball;569145 wrote:<<<<<<<<<<<projectile vomits

Sounds like we need to perform an exorcism.

killer_ewok;569160 wrote:Sounds like we need to perform an exorcism.

Stop with the suggestions of me singing the praises of ND and I'll be fine, I'm down to the intermittent, involuntary dry heave already.

If Notre Dame can beat USC they will be the Big East's first choice for a bowl game, so the Irish would play in the Champs Sports Bowl against a team like Florida State.

believer;569094 wrote:Well, heading into whatever bowl game the Irish get invited to, a true 7-5 winning record would make it more interesting at least. But I have to tell ya, the fact that a 6-5 Notre Dame squad facing a 7-4 USC team and calling a victory over the Trojans as being "huge" for the program tells you where Notre Dame football currently resides in major college football.

I loathe Notre Dame almost as much as Michigan, but college football just hasn't been quite the same without the Irish and Wolverines near the top of the heap.

And Michigan hasn't been anything special lately but OSU fans still take that game serious........right?

USC is ND's biggest rival, they could both be 0-11 heading in to this game and it would still be a big deal.

As for the game, if ND's defense can continue to play at this level and Tommy Rees keeps being efficient, then they have a real shot at winning.

ytownfootball;569164 wrote:Stop with the suggestions of me singing the praises of ND and I'll be fine, I'm down to the intermittent, involuntary dry heave already.

Okay, okay.


Champs Sports Bowl, eh? I'll take it. Florida State would be a tough opponent. That would actually be a decent bowl win if ND gets there and could pull it off.

What's the difference between Notre Dame thinking it'd be a huge win for the program playing a four-loss Southern Cal team, and Ohio State wishing they had beat a Southern Cal team last year that ended up with four losses too?

I've been saying it for more than a month, the similarities of Brian Kelly's first season and many other good first year coaches are there, and when comparing it to Jim Tressel's it's almost uncanny. Jim Tressel's first season for remarkable for one reason: he beat Michigan. Ohio State went into Ann Arbor (Note Dame is playing in Los Angeles) for that game at 6-4 (Notre Dame is 6-5), against a program that had dominated the series lately (Ohio State had beaten the Wolverines just FOUR TIMES since 1983, Southern Cal has won eight in a row after Notre Dame's great run in the series from 1983-2000)....but Tressel fucking won and the excitement was palpable in Ohio.

It is fucking time to right the ship. Neither of the close losses in 2005 or 2009 matter anymore.

Now, USC has looked very pedestrian this season. They are 7-4, and truthfully barely beat the likes of Hawai'i, Virginia, Minnesota, Arizona State and Arizona. Yeah. But throw that out the window because USC loves beating the shit out of the Irish. Will we see a tough Irish team roll into Compton and punch USC in the mouth? I think so; I really do. USC is going to have to run the ball to help Mustain out. I think Notre Dame's rush defense is up to the challenge.

But again, how will this offense play? Rees made some great throws last night, including some laser beams we haven't seen from him at all this season. Is Theo Riddick back? He provides a spark and Notre Dame needs all of the help they can get. Roby Toma looked great, but Tyler Eifert looked amazing, even blocking too.

Notre Dame wins this game with a killer game plan from Kelly and Co. It will be tough as shit though, even Mitch Mustain was a monster quarterback at Arkansas and he can definitely win this game for the Condoms.

The one time a year when I can say GO IRISH

rock_knutne;569239 wrote:And Michigan hasn't been anything special lately but OSU fans still take that game serious........right?

USC is ND's biggest rival, they could both be 0-11 heading in to this game and it would still be a big deal.

You completely missed the point but considering you're a Domer I'm not surprised.

Please, please, PUH-LEEZE let's not turn this thread into ANOTHER OSU-ND pissing match.

Both teams play their biggest rival this week. Let's save the venom for them.

killer_ewok;569292 wrote:Please, please, PUH-LEEZE let's not turn this thread into ANOTHER OSU-ND pissing match.

Both teams play their biggest rival this week. Let's save the venom for them.

i agree..but look who was starting it.

Manti Te'o broke his nose, but will be fine for Southern Cal.

I'm interested in seeing the line for this game. USC -3.5 would be my guess.

Pick6;569327 wrote:i agree..but look who was starting it.

I'm not blaming anybody in particular. Just wanting it to end before it's in full swing.