College Sports

USC at Notre Dame

Posted October 21, 2011 12:00 am

By Mike McGraw

mmcgraw@dailyherald.com

USC (5-1) at Notre Dame (4-2)

When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium

TV: Channel 5

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Series: Notre Dame leads 43-34-5, and won 20-16 last season.

Coaches: Lane Kiffin (13-6, second year at USC); Brian Kelly (12-7, 2nd year at ND)

Players to watch: This game features two of the nation’s top receivers. USC sophomore Robert Woods is fourth in the nation in receiving yards per game with 130.5, while Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd ranks 13th at 106.5 yards. ... Junior QB Matt Barkley already ranks fifth among USC’s all-time passing yardage leaders.

The skinny: This is the first time Notre Dame has hosted a night game in this rivalry and it’s the school’s first evening home game since 1990. The Irish have ridden a balanced offense to four straight wins and averaged 245 yards rushing in the last three. USC lacks a quality win this season and lost badly (43-22) to its lone ranked opponent, Arizona State. Marc Tyler, the Trojans’ leading rusher, dislocated his left shoulder last week against Cal, but said he’ll try to play against the Irish.

Fast fact: Notre Dame snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with a win in Los Angeles last season.

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