USCs playoff hopes take a big hit in loss to

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — It was an ominous bit of imagery, at the bitter end of a century-long sequence. Dark clouds descending over Touchdown Jesus, and a heavy downpour soaking every soul in Notre Dame Stadium, as if Mother Nature was lashing out at the prospect of one of faculty soccer’s defining rivalries dying in useless.

Both USC and Notre Dame have prompt they hope the rivalry can continue past this season, if they’ll come to an settlement in the approaching months. But if this was certainly the end, 99 years since USC and Notre Dame first met on a soccer subject, it might be a notably crushing remaining scene for the Twentieth-ranked Trojans, who now discover their hopes of a College Football Playoff bid hanging by a thread after a 34-24 loss.

“We just flat-out did not play good enough tonight against a good team on the road,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “[We] had some missed opportunities that make you sick right now.”

The recreation appeared effectively on its means to a different kind of conclusion, when the Thirteenth-ranked Irish shanked a 31-yard subject purpose in the fourth quarter. Three performs later, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava discovered wideout Makai Lemon for a 42-yard gain.

The recreation’s momentum was abruptly back in the fingers of Riley and his dynamic offense. That’s when the Trojans coach dialed up a hair-brained trick play that even he couldn’t defend when requested about it later.

Sprinting proper on an end-around, Lemon took the handoff from Maiava and immediately discovered himself trapped by the descending Notre Dame protection. So Lemon cocked the ball as if he had been going to throw, only to have the ball stripped away.

Asked what led him to select that explicit play, in that explicit second, Riley was curt.

“Stupid call,” he said. “Stupid call.”

It was hardly the first time that Riley’s playcalling has been called into query after a loss. But even he questioned his own determination making Saturday — notably when the Trojans twice got here up empty on fourth-and-short.

Notre Dame’s Jalen Sneed makes an attempt to sack USC quarterback Jayden Maiava during the first quarter Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

(Paul Beaty / Associated Press)

“I had the reverse pass and two fourth-down calls that weren’t very good calls and didn’t put our guys in very good positions,” Riley said. “I’ve gotta be way better for our guys.”

The fumble, for Lemon, was a uncommon misstep from the Trojans star wideout, but an particularly pricey one. It took seven performs for Notre Dame to discover the end zone after that, as quarterback C.J. Carr punched it in from one yard out to put the sport away.

There had been other errors made and alternatives squandered Saturday long before the Irish would deal that ending blow. On the drive before Lemon’s fumble, Maiava threw an interception, his first of two in the ultimate 20 minutes. The drive after, USC failed on a essential fourth-and-one at midfield, as the Irish blanketed tight end Lake McRee in the flat on a playaction cross.

Of course, the loss couldn’t be distilled down to just a few spare performs, either. USC was steamrolled on the ground by Notre Dame’s dashing assault, which piled up 306 yards, the second-most by any staff during Riley’s tenure with the Trojans.

Most of that manufacturing got here, as anticipated, from Jeremiyah Love, who burst out of the gate Saturday with a 63-yard scamper. He racked up a career-high 228 dashing yards to go with two touchdowns, as USC’s run protection made simple errors that the Irish exploited with ease.

Notre Dame working back Jeremiyah Love runs for a landing in the first quarter against USC Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.

(Justin Casterline / Getty Images)

“I just thought we overcompensated and, at times, panicked a little bit,” Riley said of the run protection.

Their lack of a dashing assault was also a trigger for panic. Per week after he rushed for 158 yards, King Miller got here back to Earth against the Irish, as the walk-on completed with 70 yards on 18 carries. The relaxation of USC’s run recreation was a literal internet detrimental, accounting for minus-24 yards.

The disparity between the 2 dashing assaults was particularly stark contemplating the circumstances, as rain poured down, more durable and more durable with every passing possession in the second half. Instead of counting on the run, which powered its offense in current weeks, the Trojans had been pressured to rely on Maiava throwing into a driving rain.

Maiava, who accomplished a season-low 52% of his passes, said the rain didn’t have an effect on him. But he wasn’t at all completely happy with how he carried out.

“Gotta be better for my teammates,” Maiava said.

USC still managed to create explosive performs from the passing recreation. Maiava had 9 passes of 15 yards or more, the most consequential of which got here halfway through the third quarter, with USC trailing by 5 factors. He noticed Ja’Kobi Lane charging past the Notre Dame secondary and threw up a prayer into the driving rain. The cross discovered Lane in good stride as he sprinted into the end zone for a 59-yard rating.

The rating handed the Trojans the lead and the sport’s momentum … for all of 15 seconds.

On the following kickoff, Jadarian Price weaved through one Trojan, then another before the sphere opened up in entrance of him. He didn’t stop until he reached the end zone, 100 yards later, with the Irish in the lead.

It was a marvel the sport even reached that level, after heavy thunderstorms soaked the stadium for hours before kickoff, bringing with it lightning that left the sport in doubt.

The rain cleared just in time for the rivalry recreation to kick off on time. But the darkish clouds, for USC at least, may loom long past Saturday evening. Not only is there a real chance of no recreation next 12 months to avenge this defeat, but with two losses on their resume, the Trojans have no remaining margin for error if they still hope to push for a Playoff spot.

That notion felt far-fetched as of Saturday evening. But as he spoke to his upset staff on Saturday evening, Riley told them to keep in mind what occurred to Ohio State, last season’s national champion, after it misplaced a crushing rivalry recreation.

It didn’t lose again.

“In this new age of college football, with all the parity right now, anything is possible,” Riley said.

As for whether or not the same rationale may apply to the rivalry …

“I don’t worry too much about the future,” Riley said. “Just in the moment right now. And every game means a whole hell of a lot to us right now.”