jiggafini19
The Pope
- Messages
- 7,370
- Reaction score
- 58
Read the last line. WOW.
Notre Dame gets its shot at USC this week
BY MIKE HUGUENIN
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT) - Top-ranked USC is at No. 9 Notre Dame this week, so let the hype-fest commence.
The Trojans (5-0) have won 27 in a row and are ranked first in the polls for the 25th consecutive week. USC is putting up an otherworldly 640.4 yards per game after rolling up 724 in Saturday's 42-21 blitzing of Arizona. Not surprisingly, the Trojans are No. 1 in the nation in total offense and rushing offense (291.2 ypg) and No. 4 in passing offense (349.2 ypg). They have two of the nation's top 11 rushers_LenDale White is No. 8 at 123.2 ypg and Reggie Bush No. 11 at 120.2 ypg. White and Bush each have rushed for 100 yards in three consecutive games.
All that firepower will be going against a Notre Dame team that ranks 95th in total defense; the Fighting Irish allow 422.2 ypg. Notre Dame has given up at least 448 yards in each of its past three games, against Michigan State (488), Washington (449) and Purdue (514). Trust us on this: None of those three teams is anything close to USC offensively.
So, it's a rout, right?
Maybe not. The reason: Pete Carroll vs. Charlie Weis is an unbelievably attractive game within a game, and Weis needs to be at his best if the Irish are to pull the monumental upset.
USC's defense is flawed, especially in the secondary, where injuries have hit in a big way in the past month. Hawaii threw for 377 yards against the Trojans. Arizona State threw for 347. USC has allowed 10 TD passes_but the Trojans also have 10 picks.
Weis has turned junior Brady Quinn into one of the nation's 10 best quarterbacks. Quinn has thrown for 1,621 yards, with 13 TDs and three picks, and he's completing 65.3 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 1,253 yards, with nine TDs and two picks, in his past three games.
The Irish have a nice complementary running game, too, headed by Darius Walker (107.5 ypg). Plus, Weis has had an extra week to prepare for this.
The Trojans have won three in a row in the series, outscoring the Irish 130-37, but they've won just twice in South Bend since 1981. The Trojans profess not to be worried about the atmosphere.
"It's a great stadium and there's a lot of tradition in the rivalry, but we're going to treat it like any other game," USC QB Matt Leinart told reporters Sunday. "That's how we do it. We don't care if it's Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Arizona, whoever. It doesn't matter."
There's no question folks in South Bend are going to be jacked; the school has moved the traditional Friday night pep rally from the Joyce Center (the basketball arena) to Notre Dame Stadium, and it's not a stretch to say the 80,795-seat facility will be half full.
The featured speaker at the pep rally? Joe Montana.
Notre Dame gets its shot at USC this week
BY MIKE HUGUENIN
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT) - Top-ranked USC is at No. 9 Notre Dame this week, so let the hype-fest commence.
The Trojans (5-0) have won 27 in a row and are ranked first in the polls for the 25th consecutive week. USC is putting up an otherworldly 640.4 yards per game after rolling up 724 in Saturday's 42-21 blitzing of Arizona. Not surprisingly, the Trojans are No. 1 in the nation in total offense and rushing offense (291.2 ypg) and No. 4 in passing offense (349.2 ypg). They have two of the nation's top 11 rushers_LenDale White is No. 8 at 123.2 ypg and Reggie Bush No. 11 at 120.2 ypg. White and Bush each have rushed for 100 yards in three consecutive games.
All that firepower will be going against a Notre Dame team that ranks 95th in total defense; the Fighting Irish allow 422.2 ypg. Notre Dame has given up at least 448 yards in each of its past three games, against Michigan State (488), Washington (449) and Purdue (514). Trust us on this: None of those three teams is anything close to USC offensively.
So, it's a rout, right?
Maybe not. The reason: Pete Carroll vs. Charlie Weis is an unbelievably attractive game within a game, and Weis needs to be at his best if the Irish are to pull the monumental upset.
USC's defense is flawed, especially in the secondary, where injuries have hit in a big way in the past month. Hawaii threw for 377 yards against the Trojans. Arizona State threw for 347. USC has allowed 10 TD passes_but the Trojans also have 10 picks.
Weis has turned junior Brady Quinn into one of the nation's 10 best quarterbacks. Quinn has thrown for 1,621 yards, with 13 TDs and three picks, and he's completing 65.3 percent of his passes. He has thrown for 1,253 yards, with nine TDs and two picks, in his past three games.
The Irish have a nice complementary running game, too, headed by Darius Walker (107.5 ypg). Plus, Weis has had an extra week to prepare for this.
The Trojans have won three in a row in the series, outscoring the Irish 130-37, but they've won just twice in South Bend since 1981. The Trojans profess not to be worried about the atmosphere.
"It's a great stadium and there's a lot of tradition in the rivalry, but we're going to treat it like any other game," USC QB Matt Leinart told reporters Sunday. "That's how we do it. We don't care if it's Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Arizona, whoever. It doesn't matter."
There's no question folks in South Bend are going to be jacked; the school has moved the traditional Friday night pep rally from the Joyce Center (the basketball arena) to Notre Dame Stadium, and it's not a stretch to say the 80,795-seat facility will be half full.
The featured speaker at the pep rally? Joe Montana.
