The USC Trojans won't have much time to recover from the loss to UCLA as the Fighting Irish come to town on Saturday. The WeAreSC staffers give three things each that the Trojans will need to do in order to beat Notre Dame.
Garry Paskwietz
1. Play to the rivalry: One of the biggest surprises from the USC-UCLA game last weekend was the fact that the Trojans were unable to match the intensity and execution level of the Bruins. In the rivalries with UCLA and Notre Dame, that has rarely been an issue for the Trojans, and with a packed Coliseum crowd on senior night it's hard to imagine that it would happen again on Saturday. Leaders of the team such as Hayes Pullard need to make sure their teammates are ready.
2. Find the missing Buck: You will still find Buck Allen near the top of the Pac-12 rushing rankings but there's been a different level of production over the past three games compared to the back who put together six straight 100-yard rushing games earlier this season. That drop certainly coincides with the injury to left tackle Chad Wheeler, who was the most consistent USC lineman before suffering a torn knee ligament against Utah. The Irish are dealing with injuries to their rush defense, as Notre Dame will be without two top defensive linemen, the middle linebacker who called the defensive signals, and a starting safety. It will be interesting to see if that means more of a reliance on the run game from the USC offense.
3. Pressure Golson: The Trojans will look to make things uncomfortable in the pocket for Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson, a strategy which was used in similar fashion for UCLA's Brett Hundley, who was able to have success with the perimeter screen passing game. Golson is a veteran quarterback who led his team to a victory in the Coliseum against the Trojans two years ago, and he's not going to get rattled easy so if there are any tricks left in the bag of USC defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox.
Johnny Curren
1. Avoid a post-UCLA hangover: The Trojans can't let this past weekend's debacle carry over into their preparation for Notre Dame. They need to realize the importance of this rivalry game, and come out with energy and a positive mindset right from the first moment they hit Brian Kennedy-Howard Jones Field this week. For this to happen, veteran leaders such as Pullard, Nelson Agholor and Cody Kessler will need to help rally the team together.
2. Get after Golson: While he doesn't present quite the challenge that Hundley did, Golson is still a formidable dual-threat passer who has the ability to put up some big numbers against the Trojans if the defensive front doesn't bring the heat on a consistent basis. The defense did appear to do a decent job of getting after Hundley early on last weekend, but it was apparent the Trojans' pass rush lost some steam as the game wore on. Unless they want a repeat of last week, Wilcox & Co. need to find a way to make Golson uncomfortable throughout the game. Of course, for any of this to really work, the Trojans' safeties will need to have a better outing in coverage as well.
3. Get a better performance out of the offensive line: Tim Drevno's group struggled throughout this past weekend's contest. With USC unable to establish any kind of a rushing attack, the Bruins were able to completely rattle Kessler. There's little doubt Notre Dame will try to replicate what UCLA accomplished, so the USC offensive line better be ready. I'd like to see Drevno open up some spots up front for competition this week. In particular, I think that Damien Mama deserves a shot at earning his starting job back, and perhaps it's time to even give someone such as Aundrey Walker a serious look.
Greg Katz
1. The Trojans have to up their game and match the physical play of the Irish. Last week against UCLA, the Bruins had their way with the Trojans, and the Men of Troy were physically dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. If the Trojans don't flex some muscle and show lack of aggressiveness, it will set the tone for the game. The last thing the Trojans can allow is for an aggressive Irish defense to sack Cody Kessler six times and don't think ND won't try to copy the UCLA model for success.
2. The Trojans' offense has to attack the Irish down field with medium to deep passing routes. The Irish secondary is vulnerable. Although Notre Dame is strong up front on defense, the Trojans have to find a way to get the running game going with Javorius Allen, something that was sorely lacking against UCLA. The Irish are inexperience at middle linebacker, and it would behoove the Trojans to challenge the ND run defense to help create effective passing opportunities. If the Trojans can establish a balanced offense, it will help keep the Irish offense under wraps. Although he has had a tough season, Irish quarterback Everett Golson is due for a big game, but he can't have one if he's on the bench.
3. Playing against the Irish offense is like playing against the UCLA offense. With the Bruins, it was stopping Brett Hundley, and against Notre Dame it's stopping senior quarterback Everett Golson, a smaller version of Hundley. The Trojans, hopefully, learned from the UCLA game that you can stop a running game, but you still have to account for the bubble screens and the quick slants. Golson can execute those patterns. If the Trojans corners get physically worked like they by the blocking of the UCLA receivers, it could be a long night against the Irish, as it was with the Bruins. The Irish have good receivers and they can be dangerous, so there will have to be improved secondary play from the Trojans. If the USC secondary has a second week of blown coverages and tackles, it could be a long night in the Coliseum for the Men of Troy.