2007 USC Trojans Football Team - Game Notes - Notre Dame

Notre Dame

See also: 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1 2 3 4 Total • USC 7 10 14 7 38 Notre Dame 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 20 Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana Game start: 3:30 pm EST

Scoring summary 1 3:40 USC Fred Davis 10 yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) USC 7–0 2 3:55 USC Allen Bradford 8 yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) USC 14–0 2 :11 USC David Buehler 30 yard field goal USC 17–0 3 12:56 USC Stanley Havili 5 yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) USC 24–0 3 8:48 USC Vidal Hazelton 48 yard pass from Mark Sanchez (David Buehler kick) USC 31–0 4 10:57 USC Joe McKnight 51 yard run (David Buehler kick) USC 38–0

USC visited inter-sectional rival Notre Dame for their 79th annual game for possession of the Jeweled Shillelagh. Pre-season demand for tickets was among the highest in Notre Dame history as USC made its first visit back to Notre Dame Stadium since the notable 2005 "Bush Push" game; demand remained high although, going into the season, the Fighting Irish were unranked.

Notre Dame had the worst start to their season in program history, opening 0–5 (the previous record was 0–3) and headed into their game with USC at 1–6. With significant problems at most positions, Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis made several changes at quarterback: Starting the opener with sophomore Demetrius Jones, he chose to start heralded freshman Jimmy Clausen for games two through seven; during which time Jones transferred from the program. After Clausen also showed trouble at the position, Weis elected to go with junior Evan Sharpley as the starter for the USC game; Sharpley had backed up Brady Quinn the previous season. In response to controversy over the length of the grass in Notre Dame Stadium during the 2005 game, where USC kickoff returner Desmond Reed suffered torn right knee ligaments and nerve damage while trying to turn on the field, the Fighting Irish cut the grass significantly shorter. Notre Dame entered the game ranked last in total offense (190.9 yards a game) and rushing (32.1 yards a game), and next to last in scoring (11.4 points); their offensive line had given up 34 sacks.

With starting quarterback John David Booty still recovering from a broken finger on his throwing hand, USC elected to start Mark Sanchez for the second straight week. On the Thursday night before the game, the Trojans charter flight experienced severe turbulence on approach to South Bend Regional Airport during a lightning storm; their aircraft dropped and threw several passengers (players, coaches and their spouses) from their seats and hit their heads on the ceiling during an initial approach that was aborted before the plane circled and landed safely.

Breaking with tradition, the Fighting Irish announced in June that they would be wearing their alternative green jerseys instead of blue against USC; Weis noted that it was in honor of the 1977 Irish team that switched to green jerseys before defeating the Trojans en route to a national championship (Weis was a student at Notre Dame at the time). Previously, the Irish did not let the public know when they would be wearing their green jerseys.

The Trojans dominated the game, shutting out Notre Dame 38–0, USC's largest margin of victory in the series. Quarterback Mark Sanchez made significant improvements over the previous week, completing 21 of 38 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. There were several highlight plays: Tight end Fred Davis made a one-handed touchdown catch in the first quarter, wide receiver Vidal Hazelton made a 48-yard touchdown run after evading several Irish defenders, and freshman running back Joe McKnight made a 51-yard fourth quarter run for his first touchdown. The USC defense stifled the Irish offense: allowing only 165 yards to the Trojans' 462 yards, making five sacks, and keeping the Irish from rushing for a first down until the fourth quarter. There were several special teams miscues: The Irish blocked a USC punt, the Trojans blocked a 40-yard field goal attempt and the Irish had a fumbled punt return that was recovered by USC. The Trojans had several key players return from injuries and make significant contributions, including linebacker Brian Cushing and running back Stafon Johnson.

After two weeks of moving down in the rankings, the Trojans moved up to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, No. 9 in the AP Poll (tied with Florida) and No. 12 in the BCS standings.