by Leprechaun Express & Steve Welsh
“… Items: Notre Dame’s Chris Finke caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Kizer on the opening drive of the second half to cut the USC lead to 24-14. On the ensuing drive, Jackson took a Darnold pass 52 yards for a TD. With 1:01 left in the quarter, ND’s Kevin Stepherson caught a 29-yard touchdown. ….”
“Adoree’ Jackson returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns and also scored on a TD pass, and Southern Cal’s aggressive defense had some success as the No. 12 Trojans (9-3) were dominant in the season finale Saturday, sending the Notre Dame (4-8) to a 45-27 defeat.”
“… This will be the fourth of Kelly’s seven seasons that the Irish finish outside of the AP Top 25. The negative energy burdening some of those teams has been palpable, and an obvious problem. …”
“#NotreDame football coach #BrianKelly is exploring options through his representatives to possibly leave the Fighting Irish program, a source said Saturday. Kelly’s representatives have had contact with other universities, a source told ESPN. Yahoo! Sports first reported Kelly’s interest in the possibility of leaving Notre Dame. ….”
“….. A season coach #BrianKelly described as a ‘nightmare’ ended unmercifully in the shadows of the Hollywood hills with a 45-27 loss to USC. ….”
“By The Numbers … 2 Losing seasons suffered by Brian Kelly in his 26 years as a college head coach. His first year at Central Michigan in 2004 produced a 4-7 mark, and his seventh at Notre Dame resulted in a worse 4-8. … 3 Teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, since the divisions were established in 1978, that still have never played a Football Champions Series opponent (formerly lower than Division 1-A): Notre Dame, USC and UCLA. …”
“… #NotreDame (4-8) … struggled to keep up with No. 12 USC (9-3), dropping its season finale, 45-27, on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Notre Dame held a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, but USC quickly regained a 10-7 lead and did not trail for the remaining three-plus quarters. The Irish were within 10 points in the third quarter, but Notre Dame’s two turnovers proved to be too much to overcome on the road against a top-15 opponent. …”
ABC LIVE VIDEO STREAM: Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal
#NotreDame vs. Southern Cal live boxscore/stats – ESPN
In Lou Holtz’s first year at #NotreDame, when current Notre Dame assistant coach Greg Hudson was an underclassman player, the Irish had close games all year against elite opponents, only to take a 4-6 record into their finale against a top-20 #SouthernCal in the Coliseum. After falling behind, and still trailing 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Irish staged a furious comeback to beat the Trojans in the final moments, including contributions by future Heisman-winner and NFL great Tim Brown, future long-time NFL veterans Steve Beuerlein and John Carney, and an intense game for the ages from up and down the roster.
