USC Favored By 10 Over Notre Dame

NFL News - October 14th, 2009 - Written by Scott

No. 20 Notre Dame will look to end their seven game losing streak to No. 6 USC on Saturday as the they host the Trojans in their heated rivalry. The Irish have struggled offensively against USC the past two seasons and have only totaled 256 yards in their past two meetings. This looks to change this season as Notre Dame has been an offensive machine over the course of this year's play. USC (4-1) is coming off their 30-3 win over California and Notre Dame outlasted Washington 37-30. The Trojans routed the Irish in last year's meeting 38-3.

The offense for USC has not gotten off to a fast start as expected. This could be due to the injury sustained by freshman starting quarterback Matt Barkley. Despite the injury, Barkley has played well and has thrown for 958 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Trojan's running game could be a huge factor this weekend as the Irish are surrendering 139 yards per game on the ground. Joe McKnight leads the USC running game with 473 yards and 6 touchdowns. Barkley will look to get their leading receiver, Damion Williams, involved early. He has 359 yards receiving and 1 touchdown. The offense will not be able to rely on their defense as they have all season. They will need to take advantage of the Irish defense which has struggled all year.

The USC Trojans defense has been stellar this year. They are only allowing 238 yards per game. In addition, they have not allowed a passing touchdown yet this season. They will need to pressure Notre Dame's quarterback, Jimmy Clausen, and not give him time to pick apart their secondary. They have been successful with getting to the quarterback so far and have recorded 21 sacks this year.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1) has relied on the arm of Clausen in their offensive scheme and the Irish are ranked 10th in the nation in total yards per game with 470 yards. He is improving his stats weekly in hopes to be a Heisman contender. Clausen has passed for 1,544 yards and 12 touchdowns. Armando Allen leads their rushing attack with 365 yards and 3 touchdowns. The loss of big-play receiver Michael Floyd has not hurt them as expected. Golden Tate has emerged as their go-to receiver and has 602 yards with 4 touchdowns. If the Notre Dame offensive line can do a good job protecting Clausen, it could provide a great test for the Sooners secondary, one like they have not witnessed yet this year.

The defense has been the question mark this year for the Irish. They are giving up 403 yards per game. They must stop the run against USC, which is what they have struggled with all year. This would put the pressure on Barkley to make plays in the air, as he is not a factor when he needs to scramble.

BetUS sportsbook has the Trojans favored by 10 over the Irish on Saturday. The over/under is set at 48.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/