No. 15 Notre Dame and Jeremiyah Love ran wild against No. 21 Southern California to secure a big win for their College Football Playoff hopes.
Those College Football Playoff hopes for Notre Dame?
They’re doing just fine.
The 15th-ranked Fighting Irish ensured their bid to get back to the national championship title game ss far from over with their running game leading a 34-24 defeat of No. 15 Southern California in the 96th Battle of the Jeweled Shillelagh.
It was only the seventh game of the season for Notre Dame, but it couldn't afford another loss after opening the season with close defeats to Miami and Texas A&M.
The Fighting Irish played with the necessary urgency, running for 306 yards, led by a career day by Jeremiyah Love. The junior running back piled up a career-high 228 yards and one touchdown on the ground on just 24 carries for an average 9.5 yards per carry.
Love was complimented by 87 rushing yards from fellow back Jadarain Price, but his impact went beyond the running game.
After USC rallied in the second half to take a 24-21 lead in the third quarter, Price took the ensuing kickoff 100-yards to the house and sent the Notre Dame faithful into a frenzy.
The Trojans had a chance to reclaim the lead several times but were undone by too many mistakes. Quarterback Jayden Maiava threw an interception and a trick play in the fourth quarter turned a fumble by star receiver Makai Lemon. USC turned it over three times to Notre Dame’s one.
Notre Dame was able to add another touchdown to make it a 10-point game and USC couldn’t cut the deficit, shut out in the final frame.
Notre Dame has now won five consecutive game, but most importantly got its first ranked win of the season.
Even if the Trojans fall out of the US LBM coaches poll, it’s a big resume booster that the Fighting Irish need to secure a spot in the playoff if they can win the rest of the games.
On the negative side, it's a difficult loss for USC and Lincoln Riley after showing signs of life in a defeat of Michigan last week. The Trojans are 5-2 and the path to its first playoff appearance gets more difficult, especially with a road trip to Oregon later in the season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Notre Dame pounds USC to boost College Football Playoff hopes
Category: General Sports
