No. 5 Notre Dame looks to cement CFP berth vs. USC

(Photo credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images)

When No. 5 Notre Dame visits rival Southern California in Los Angeles for the 95th all-time meeting between the programs, the Fighting Irish are playing to lock up a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame (10-1) climbed one spot in the CFP rankings after clobbering then-No. 19 Army 49-14 last week in New York.

The Fighting Irish recovered from a confounding loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 and have since ripped off nine straight wins. Only No. 1 Oregon has a longer winning streak among FBS programs, with 11 consecutive victories.

Notre Dame's lack of a conference championship game leaves Saturday as the Fighting Irish's final opportunity to make a statement to the selection committee. With only eight teams remaining that have one loss or fewer, a win over the Trojans would all but cement Notre Dame into the 12-team field.

"This will truly be our biggest challenge to date for multiple reasons," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "The things outside of this game that have nothing to do with this game, that's going to be a reason why it's a challenge. But because of how good this (USC) team is in relation to its record ... they're 3-1 in their last four games (and) they have one loss at home."

USC (6-5) reaches the finale of a trying first season as a member of the Big Ten, but the Trojans appear to be peaking at the right time. They fell to 4-5 after a 26-21 loss at Washington on Nov. 2 but recovered to win their final two conference games of the season and reach bowl eligibility.

The loss at Washington dropped USC to 1-5 in one-score games. The Trojans lost five games by a total of 19 points.

Their last two wins against Nebraska and UCLA reversed the trend of losing tightly contested matchups. The victories also coincided with a move at quarterback from Miller Moss to Jayden Maiava.

Maiava accounted for all four of USC's touchdowns against Nebraska, passing for three and rushing for one. The Trojans scored just one touchdown against rival UCLA, but it came by way of Maiava's 4-yard strike to Ja'Kobi Lane late in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, has beaten every opponent it has played since Oct. 12 by at least 18 points. A 31-24 win over Louisville on Sept. 28 marked the Fighting Irish's last one-possession contest.

A defense that ranks second nationally in points allowed at 11.6 per game and first in total turnovers forced with 26 has powered Notre Dame's lopsided winning streak. Safeties Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler have combined for seven interceptions to lead the Fighting Irish.

Solving the Notre Dame defense is key to USC continuing the recent trend of the home team winning in this rivalry every year since 2019. What's more, the Trojans can spoil the Fighting Irish's postseason aspirations -- though coach Lincoln Riley downplayed the significance.

"It's always an important game," he said. "There's a lot of history behind it. It's two great programs. ... When you come here, the history behind this game is so epic. It just is. No. 1, I think it would be disrespectful to not be as ready as you can be (to play Notre Dame)."

--Field Level Media