USC Stops Notre Dame At One-Yard Line, Win 8th Straight Over Irish

NFL News - October 18th, 2009 - Written by John

Notre Dame made a furious rally to get back from a 34-14 deficit, but couldn't get the one yard that mattered the most. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish was stopped at the one-yard line with no time remaining, down a touchdown, allowing USC to win it's eighth-straight over their rivals, 34-27. It is ties the longest losing streak against one opponent in Notre Dame history.

Jimmy Clausen had three opportunities to punch it in, but threw three incompletions in a row. He got somewhat of a break after the second pass. After it was deflected by a Trojan defensive back, the ball bounced on the ground as time expired. USC rushed the field in jubilation, assuming the game was over. But officials reviewed the play and deemed there was still one second left, giving the Irish a final play. But his third pass was a good two yards off target and set the Trojans off on their second celebration.

"When it came right down to it we found ways to make plays," USC coach Pete Carroll said.

Clausen finished the day with 260 yards on 24 completions, but was sacked five times. Tate led the Irish with 117 yards and caught both Clausen's touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Irish head coach Charlie Weis once again faces questions of his team's ineptitude in big games. Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley threw for a career high 380 yards against his team and seemed unfazed by Notre Dame's pressure.

"We hope to keep this thing going. It's a big deal to us. It's special," he said. "So we've got to hang onto it next time around when they come to our place. We have to get after it and see if we can keep the thing going. Because it's very special for the SC family to continue to be on top of this rivalry."

Barkley's leadership was never more apparent than in the third quarter when he faked a handoff and turned around to see two Irish players in his face. He took three steps backward and lofted a pass off the wrong foot to tight end Anthony McCoy. As it turned out, the ball was delivered perfectly, hitting McCoy on-stride for a 60-yard gain. It set up a three-yard touchdown by Allen Bradford that put his team up 27-14, too big of a hole for Weis' team to get out of. McCoy led all receivers with 153 yards receiving

They tried, though. Clausen was unimpressive in the first half, but finally came around in the second. He threw a beautiful deep ball on a go-route to Tate, who probably made a better catch. The receiver leaped in between two defenders, gobbling up the ball and maintaining possession as he fell to the earth to narrow the deficit, 20-14.

After Joe McKnight's one-yard plunge then gave the USC Trojans their 20-point lead, Clausen came storming back. He capped off a long drive with a 2-yard score on a keeper, and again captained a scoring drive when Barkley was picked off on the ensuing drive. Tate, again, was the beneficiary, scoring on a 15-yard pass to make it 34-27.

"I think anyone that doesn't realize the fight that's in the Fighting Irish is missing the boat. It's evident if you watch the last five games. Every week it's the same thing," Weis said. "This team's a bunch of fighters. I'm proud of the fight. I'm disappointed with the loss, it's never OK to lose. But they're a bunch of fighters."

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