Notre Dame Opponent First Glance: USC Trojans
The 13th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-3) are winners of six straight, but they face a huge challenge this weekend when they travel West to take on the No. 5 Southern Cal Trojans (10-1).
We kick off our coverage of Notre Dame vs USC with a first glance look at the Trojans.
Where: Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
When: 7:30 PM ET
Network: ABC
Line: USC -5.5, O/U 64.5
Let's take a look at the Trojans:
Head Coach - Lincoln Riley (1st season)
Record: 10-1 (1st season at USC)
Overall Record: 65-11 (6th season)
Lincoln Riley made a name for himself as a hot shot young offensive coordinator at East Carolina under Ruffin McNeil. He caught the eye of Bob Stoops, who brought him in to run the Sooner offense prior to the 2015 season. Oklahoma immediately jumped its scoring average by a touchdown and went 22-4 in his two seasons as the OC, which followed an 8-5 season prior to his arrival.
After Stoop retired, Riley was named head coach for OU. He went 12-2 in each of his first three seasons and earned a trip to the College Football Playoff in each of his first three seasons. After going 36-6 and 24-3 in conference play in his first three seasons, OU was still good but not quite as good in his final two campaigns. The Sooners went 19-4 overall and 13-4 in league play, failing to earn a playoff spot in either season.
He's quickly turned around the Trojans, who were coming off a 4-8 campaign. As expected, Riley has quick made USC on of the more productive offenses in college football.
Offensive Coordinator: Josh Henson (1st season)
Defensive Coordinator: Alex Grinch (1st season)
2022 SCHEDULE/RESULTS (10-1)
Rice - Won 66-14
at Stanford - Won 41-28
Fresno State - Won 45-17
at Oregon State - Won 17-14
Arizona State - Won 42-25
Washington State - Won 30-14
at Utah - Lost 43-42
at Arizona - Won 45-37
California - Won 41-35
Colorado - Won 55-17
at UCLA - Won 48-45
Notre Dame
2022 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW
2022 STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rushing: RB Travis Dye - 145 att., 884 yards, 6.1 YPC, 9 TD (Injured); RB Austin Jones - 73 att., 455 yards, 6.2 YPC, 5 TD; QB Caleb Williams - 88 att., 316 yards, 3.6 YPC, 7 TD; RB Raleek Brown - 34 att., 159 yards, 4.7 YPC, 1 TD
Passing: QB Caleb Williams - 250 com., 385 att., 64.9%, 3,480 yards, 33 TD, 3 INT, 167.59 rating
Receiving: WR Jordan Addison - 51 rec., 765 yards, 15.0 YPC, 8 TD; WR Tahj Washington - 36 rec., 549 yards, 15.3 YPC, 4 TD; WR Mario Williams - 27 rec., 508 yards, 18.8 YPC, 4 TD; WR Brenden Rice - 29 rec., 370 yards, 12.8 YPC, 2 TD; WR Kyle Ford - 15 rec., 303 yards, 20.2 YPC, 2 TD
Tackles: LB Shane Lee - 65 tackles, S Max Williams - 60 tackles; LB Eric Gentry - 52 tackles; CB Mekhi Blackmon - 50 tackles; DE Tuli Tuipulotu - 38 tackles; S Caleb Bullock - 38 tackles; CB Jaylin Smith - 37 tackles; LB Ralen Goforth - 35 tackles; S Bryson Shaw - 34 tackles
Tackles For Loss: DE Tuli Tuipulotu - 19; DT Tyrone Taleni - 7.5; DE Solomon Byrd - 6.5; LB Shane Lee - 5.5; DT Stanley Ta'ufo'ou - 5.5; DE Nick Figueroa - 5.0; LB Eric Gentry - 2.5
Sacks: DE Tuli Tuipulotu - 11.5; DT Tyrone Taleni - 5.0; DE Nick Figueroa - 4.5; DE Solomon Byrd - 3.0; LB Shane Lee - 2.5
Interceptions: S Caleb Bullock - 4; CB Mekhi Blackmon - 3; LB Shane Lee - 2; S Max Williams - 2; seven tied with 1
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Irish Breakdown Content
Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense
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