The 86th meeting between USC and Notre Dame will take place November 29. (ND leads the series, 45-35-5, and has won the last two meetings). As the two programs progress toward rivalry week, we'll take a weekly look at current trends, and the current state of hostilities, between the Trojans and the Fighting Irish.
Days until game: 67
2014 Notre Dame-USC power index: 1. Notre Dame (3-0); 2. USC (2-1)
Last week: Notre Dame and USC both had byes.
Notre Dame this week: Syracuse (East Rutherford, NJ), 8:00
USC this week: vs. Oregon State, 10:30
Notre Dame storyline: Irish nation had a week to mentally and emotionally regroup after an underwhelming win against Purdue. Many took to their televisions to watch upcoming ND opponent Florida State, thinking to themselves "Hey, I think we could probably beat Sean Maguire." Meetings with the Seminoles (in Tallahassee on 10/18) and Stanford (at home next Saturday) loom large in October, but how Irish supporters feel about those prospects will probably be colored by this week's performance in North Jersey. The Orange (2-1, with the wins in overtime against FCS Villanova and Central Michigan), who lost to Maryland last week, stunned the Irish in South Bend when the teams last met in 2008. Meanwhile, the plight of Notre Dame's five suspended players, a group now being referred to as "The Marooned Five," appears no closer to clarity.
USC storyline: Has the hangover from the the Trojans' puzzling night in Chesnut Hill subsided? The Trojans will find out when Oregon State comes to town for the Pac-12 home opener. The good news (besides USC's 33-4 record against OSU in their last 37 meetings) is that the Beavers aren't the type of power running team that is going to batter USC for 452 yards on the ground. The bad is that the Trojans defense has no fewer holes, and that Oregon State has a better quarterback, Sean Mannion, than they saw in Beantown two weeks ago. This begins a three-game stretch (Oregon State, Arizona State, at Arizona) that is going to be telling if Steve Sarkisian and Co. really expect to compete for a Pac-12 title.
Moment in hatestory: October 17, 2009
The ultimate moment in USC's near-decade of dominance over Notre Dame, this 34-27 win gave the Trojans an eight-game winning streak that stands as USC's longest winning run in the series. This one got interesting late, as Jimmy Clausen and the Fighting Irish made a frenetic comeback from 34-14 down, only to fall just short at the end.
Hate tweets:
When Notre Dame beats USC this year I am going to laugh so hard!!! #3-0
— Jake Calhoun (@BigManCali_53) September 25, 2014
@ESPN_Colin SHOCKED to learn you're a USC HOMER and apologist. Trojans lose at least 4, UCLA and Notre Dame roll 'em!
— Conrad Rios (@conradasap) September 24, 2014
Give us your thoughts on the USC/Notre Dame rivalry below, or @EyeonCFB. If your tweet is selected for "Countdown to Notre Dame at USC" next week, you will be the lucky recipient of some retaliatory anger from strangers on the internet.
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