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: 52
2014 Notre Dame-USC power index: 1. Notre Dame (5-0); 2. USC (3-2)
Notre Dame last week: The Fighting Irish picked up their signature win of 2014 to date, taking down Stanford (17-14) in a slugfest that would have been the team's first loss were it not for a 23-yard, 4th-and-11 touchdown pass from Everett Golson to Ben Koyack with just over a minute to play. The dramatic victory made the Irish 5-0 for just the third time since 1997.
USC last week: This happened:
Notre Dame this week: vs. North Carolina, Saturday, 3:30
USC this week: at Arizona, Saturday, 10:30
Notre Dame storyline: In addition to swapping academic scandal stories, Notre Dame will try to avoid the dreaded look-ahead this week when it plays host to underdog North Carolina (2-3). The big one comes next week, when the Irish's national title hopes will either rise or fall at Florida State. In addition to this Saturday's matchup, the fate of "The Marooned Five" could be known very soon, according to reports. Cynical non-Domers everywhere expect that group to join the team juuuust in time to board a flight in Tallahassee.
USC storyline: Do you come back from the kind of loss USC suffered last week? Let's look it up, shall we? When THIS happened to Miami against Boston College in 1984, the Hurricanes lost their only remaining game (to UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl). When THIS happened to Michigan against Colorado in 1994, the Wolverines fell from the No. 4 ranking all the way to an 8-4 finish and final ranking of No. 20 in the AP poll. So, nope, based on two instances that happened a combined 50 years ago, we're saying USC is toast. Though for real, beating a good Arizona team on the road would pretty much instantly raise spirits and Pac-12 title chances.
Moment in hatestory: Nov. 30, 1996 (beware of some coarse langage on the video below)
This one was an orgiastic feast for the senses if you were a USC fan. The Trojans came into this meeting 0-13-1 over their previous 14 games against the Fighting Irish, a winless streak that was expected to continue since USC was 5-6 and Notre Dame was 8-2 and ranked No. 10 in the country. It was Lou Holtz's final game as head coach at ND, and would prove to be his only loss to the Trojans. Ahead 20-12 late, the Irish missed a key point-after that would have pushed the margin to two scores, USC took advantage to force overtime, and finished the job in the extra session on a Brad Otton-to-Rodney Sermons TD pass. The loss prevented the Irish from playing in an Alliance Bowl, and with no other tie-ins or options, it meant the Holtz era was over. "My gut feels like someone's reached in and pulled out my insides,'' Holtz said after the game. ''I've never felt this low." Good lord Lou, lighten up.
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