On a day when highly ranked teams like No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Clemson suffered upset losses on their home turf, No. 6 USC avoided a similar fate and kept their football playoff hopes alive. university with a 38-27 victory over No. 15 Notre-Dame. Caleb Williams marked the victory for the Trojans with a performance that included several scoring plays and four total touchdowns as the sophomore quarterback argued for the Heisman Trophy against a quality Irish defense.
Senior running back Austin Jones was also a big contributor when he passed the 100-yard mark in his second game as the Trojans returned from a season-ending injury to star guard Travis Dye. Defensively, the Trojans gave up a few big plays in the passing game, but bottled Notre Dame’s strong rushing offense and made a few clutch plays.
The Fighting Irish forced a punt and took possession just 31-21 with 6:03 remaining, but USC defensive back Calen Bullock jumped in front of a pass from Drew Pyne intended for the tight end of Notre Dame Michael Mayer and had an interception with 4:56 remaining. Facing a fourth-and-2 on subsequent possession, Williams held the ball for a 16-yard touchdown run to win the game.
USC now enters next week’s Pac-12 Championship game with an 11-1 record under freshman coach Lincoln Riley. Notre Dame, meanwhile, finishes its first regular season under coach Marcus Freeman at 8-4.
CBS Sports will update this story shortly with takeaways.
