Steve Sarkisian and USC still have Pac-12 title hopes. (USATSI)
Steve Sarkisian and USC still have Pac-12 title hopes. (USATSI)

The 86th meeting between Southern California and Notre Dame will take place Nov. 29. (ND leads the series, 45-35-5, and has won the past 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: 38

2014 Notre Dame-USC power index: 1. Notre Dame (6-1); 2. USC (5-2)

Notre Dame last week: This was a thing that happened. Perhaps you heard about it:

That offensive pass interference call prevented the Fighting Irish from taking a late lead, and likely leaving Tallahassee with a win. Instead, it was a 31-27 loss at Florida State. Whether you think the call was the correct one depends on your perspective, but those in position to judge the details objectively (read: not Notre Dame or Florida State fans, or the people who hate those teams) seem to skew towards "good call." 

USC last week: USC followed up a nice road win over Arizona with a 56-28 punishing of Colorado, a victory that kept the Trojans atop the Pac-12 South (4-1). Cody Kessler completed 19 of 26 passes for 319 yards and a school record seven touchdowns, including three to Nelson Agholor and two to Bryce Dixon. 

Notre Dame this week: Bye

USC this week: at Utah, Saturday, 10:00

Notre Dame storyline: Notre Dame will lick its wounds this Saturday, in advance of another trip to the East Coast to face Navy, in a game that will be broadcast in prime time by CBS. The points of debate for the next two weeks will be these: 1. If Florida State is really the No. 2 team in the nation, and Notre Dame was within a couple of yards of knocking the Noles off in their own house, can you extrapolate that to declare that a one-loss ND is worthy of serious consideration for the four-team playoff? 2. Even if you can make a strenuous argument that Notre Dame would belong in the playoff discussion with one loss, will it matter? That's a tricky question to answer given the many variables around the country, coupled with the lack of track record for the College Football Playoff committee in evaluating these matters, in this context. We just don't know, and all Notre Dame can control from this point on will be winning games.  

USC storyline: Utah stands between the Trojans and a three-game winning streak, and despite their lack of national cachet, all indications are that the No. 19 Utes will be a mighty hurdle. Kyle Whittingham's team comes off back-to-back road wins over UCLA (30-28) and Oregon State (29-23), and still has very real Pac-12 title hopes of its own. Kessler is unlikely to have things as easy against a defense that has been terrorizing opposing QBs. Utah's only loss was a 28-27 affair against Washington State. History is on the Trojans' side, as the Utes are 0-3 against Southern Cal since joining the Pac-12, including a 19-3 loss at The Coliseum last season. 

Moment in hatestory: November 28, 1998

The highlights of the Paul Hackett era at USC could probably be covered in the time it took to type this sentence, but this was a definite high point of his 37-game, 19-win tenure. USC entered the game 7-4 and unranked, while Notre Dame was 9-1 and en route to a major bowl if it could just take care of business in LA. But an injury that sidelined QB Jarious Jackson the week before put a damper on those plans. Subbing for Jackson, Eric Chappell -- who would eventually be dismissed from the team and implicated in a ticket probe -- could not lead the Irish to a single point in what would become a 10-0 blanking. This would mark Hackett's lone win over Notre Dame in his three tumultous seasons at Southern Cal. 

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