USC and Notre Dame renew their rivalry on Saturday afternoon from the Colosseum, and it’s a matchup of two teams that have had dramatically different seasons. USC has turned it around after a brutal start, while Notre Dame cratered and is playing out the string in a season their fans would love to forget.
Notre Dame vs. USC 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
The Trojans can add to the Fighting Irish’s miserable 2016.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
The result of this game won’t affect the Pac-12 standings, so USC’s path to the Pac-12 title game rests on the result of the Colorado-Utah game. If the Utes can upset the Buffs, USC will sneak into the title game by virtue of their head-to-head win over Colorado earlier this season. If the Buffs take care of business, they’re in. This game kicks off before the Colorado game starts, so the Trojans won’t know about their fate until later on Saturday night.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, is 4-7, and probably wants this season to be over with. A win over USC would be a great cap to a terrible year, though, so we’ll see early just how fired up the Irish are for this game.
How to watch, stream, and listen
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Radio: Notre Dame | USC
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: USC is favored by 17 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at One Foot Down for Notre Dame fans and Conquest Chronicles for USC fans.
Three big things to know
1. Every external factor here points to a big USC win. The Trojans are surging and have everything left to play for, while the Irish are coming off a collapse against Virginia Tech last week, and will not be going to a bowl game this year unless they get an APR waiver. It’s dangerous to project too much in a rivalry game like this, but there doesn’t appear to be a ton going for Notre Dame right now.
2. Last week against Virginia Tech, quarterback Jerod Evans went 22 for 29 for 267 yards and three total touchdowns. The weak point in the Irish defense is definitely their pass defense, which looks like a terrible matchup for USC and Sam Darnold. Darnold is completing over 68% of his passes this year, so there's plenty of reason to think he'll have another efficient, productive day.
3. Ronald Jones II has run for over 100 yards in three of USC's past four games. If he can get going, Notre Dame is in deep trouble.
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