USC vs. Notre Dame Prediction: Can Sam Hartman, Fighting Irish Bounce Back?
Many college football fans have had this high profile game circled on their calendars for weeks and it is finally here. Can Notre Dame bounce back after the embarrassing loss against Louisville last week? Let’s break it down.
Joey Ruiz - October 14, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
9 minUSC vs. Notre Dame Prediction: Can Sam Hartman, Fighting Irish Bounce Back?
Notre Dame has had one of the hardest schedules in the country to this point as this game against USC will be their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent. We saw Notre Dame fight hard against top-five opponent Ohio State as they really should have won that game, but ended up losing on the last play, after playing a near perfect defensive game.
USC vs. Notre Dame Date, Start Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: October 14, 2023
- Game Time: 7:30 pm ET
- Where to Watch: NBC
USC vs. Notre Dame Prediction
Two costly defensive miscues on the final drive ended up costing them the win but overall it was a solid showing for the Fighting Irish. Then Notre Dame traveled to face the top 15th ranked Duke Blue Devils and the shoe was on the other foot this game as Notre Dame blew an early 10 to zero lead, but came back to win on the final drive as they scored a touchdown in the final 30 seconds to take the lead, and did not look back as they won that game by a score of 21 to 14.
This brutal stretch of two hard fought and emotional games caught up to them as they simply did not have any gas left in the tank against Louisville, which was evident as the Cardinals blew out Notre Dame by the score of 33 to 20. Notre Dame’s experienced quarterback, Sam Hartman, picked a bad time to have one of the worst games of his career as he threw three interceptions. He did not have a single interception on the season to this point, so it was very surprising to see him be so careless with the ball.
The Notre Dame offense as a whole did not have a very good day as they were only able to put up 298 yards of total offense and totaled five turnovers on the day. It’s hard to win any game let alone beat a ranked opponent on the road when you have five turnovers in a single game, so Notre Dame will have to rectify their ball security if they are going to have any chance against USC and their high powered offense tonight. While it’s never good to lose a game in college football, I do think this game was a bit of a wake up call for a Notre Dame team, who have been walking on eggshells for a few weeks now.
It’s only human nature to have a bad game and while they did lose to Ohio State at home in dramatic fashion, which was a tough loss, they performed extremely well on both sides of the ball, and especially on defense. One thing that Ohio State, Duke, and Louisville, all have in common is that they have above average defenses. Those three squads are in the top half of the country in nearly every defensive metric to this point, which is something that cannot be said about USC and their Swiss cheese defense.
Last week against Arizona, we watched USC give up 41 total points to a freshman, back up quarterback for Arizona, making his second career start. If not for Caleb Williams and his magic on offense, they would have lost to the Wildcats in what would have been an embarrassing loss as three touchdown favorites.
This is also not the first time we have seen this from the USC defense as they allowed 28 points to San Jose State, and 41 to Colorado. USC has allowed an average of 535 yards across their last two games and have been bailed out by their offense because they were up against subpar opponents with even worse defenses than their own.
The Notre Dame defense will be the best defensive unit that Caleb Williams has faced this season and I do not think he will be able to win this game by himself if USC’s defense lays another egg. On the season to this point, USC’s defense is ranked 70th in yards allowed per carry (4.2), 58th in yards allowed per passing attempt (7.3), and 98th in yards allowed per game (421).
These are simply not the defensive metrics of a top 5-10 team and if not for their very weak schedule to this point, they would already have a loss or two but I believe their undefeated season ends tonight.
Sam Hartman and this strong Notre Dame running game should have a field day and this is the definition of a bounce back spot at home, under the lights, in a huge game with national championship implications. With that being said, I am rolling with Notre Dame ML at -127 for 2U as my most confident college football play of the day as I think the Fighting Irish knock off USC at home in a thriller.
USC vs. Notre Dame Pick
2u Notre Dame ML -127 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
Win a $50 Gift Card on College Football Saturday
Think you know what's going to happen in various games on College Football Saturday this week? Answer the pick questions below for your chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!
College Football Odds
