20 thoughts on “USC Double-Digit Underdog To Notre Dame”

  1. 11.5 sounds about right to me. Troy has the talent to keep the game close, but I think the difference in coaching and being on the road makes for an Irish the in the second half.

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    1. GoIrish,

      I could see it your way, however, with Harrell being the OC, I am cautious but I think SC can win next year at SB if Helton gets out of Harrell’s way. The ball is getting out of the qb’s hands faster and they actually know what they want to do with the ball. If I had a say, I would give ND a 7.5-7 point difference. But we will see.

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      1. If Notre Dame were the first game of the season —when we were 100% healthy —-I guarantee we’d beat ’em, pt. I just wish they weren’t our second VERY tough road game in a row, after we’ve ALREADY had knock down, drag out battles with Fresno State, Stanford and fricking Utah….

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      2. SC is gonna get rolled in South Bend. Anyone who thinks USC can win there this year didn’t fill out their own application to USC.

        #ANewOCDoesn’tMakeUpForTheSameDCFromA5-7Year

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  2. Ya gotta think that the oddsmakers are taking into consideration the fact that, not only is Notre Dame better coached than USC, but the USC/Notre Dame game is played at South Bend on October 12th —AFTER USC has played Utah on FRIDAY September 20th and Washington in Seattle on September 28th. All very physical match ups, all in a row. USC should be pretty bruised up by October 12th…..
    #….NiceScheduling

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      1. Good correction, Alv…… & Notre Dame definitely has the better defensive coordinator. As a matter of fact, those 3 teams I mentioned above (Utah, Washington and Notre Dame) ALL have solid defensive coordinators and top 25 defenses. That little stretch from September 20th to October 12th is gonna be a real test of Graham Harrell’s offense.

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      1. Pudly —I’m really worried about BOTH our lines [& our secondary] by mid October. I’m one of the people who think USC will start the year WAY stronger than our critics could even imagine, beating Fresno State and Stanford (and, of course, BYU). I just wonder how we’ll be holding up when we get to the end (which, of course, would have to be in South Bend) of that terrible 3 game stretch with Utah, Washington and Notre Dame. [I’d feel better about the whole thing if Clay had been able to score a first magnitude Strength and Conditioning coach instead of a retread].

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      3. ” I say screw the public funds and open up the bidding.”

        – Pudly76

        What a stupid jackass…LMFAO!

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      6. Last time we went back there, not only did they have a bye, they had finals the first week then no school the second. Almost two weeks without classes!

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      7. One way to deal with opposing teams who are physical is to have practices that are harder than games. If USC can’t deal with bruising teams like Utah, Stanford and ND then that is on the head coach and his idiotic philosophy of mental reps in practice and the equally stupid No Pads November.

        Pete Carroll’s success was directly tied to how hard and competitive his practices were. For Clay not to see that makes him even more of a rube.

        #MakePracticesHarderThanGames

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      8. Yesterday in an interview new DB coach said that when he coached for PC, the team never worried about winning. He said they wanted to see who’d be the ones making the big plays. That pretty much speaks to the confidence Pete instilled in his guys, it’s about us not them.

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  4. The problem with the offense, is that the oline is very passive. I would rather have a power run game and then a pass game. On defense, Pendergast has a thing about this preditor position and how they are to get to the qb. All the qb has to do is roll out to the opposite side of the preditor. Now, if you have to de’s pinching in and creating havoc, then I can see how Pendegrast is working the defense. All defense is containment on the sides, and stopping the run. You do that, you win most of your games. Some one tell that to Pendergast.

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    1. On the Trojans Live podcast last evening Christian Rector mentioned that Clancy was going to the more traditional DE scheme this year. It’ll be interesting to see if it comes to fruition this year or it’s just a spring fling..

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