This day always felt like it was coming for USC. Inevitably, the Trojans’ good fortune would run out and the offense would not be able to score enough to outpace their defensive deficiencies and the rent would finally come due. Consider it the first of the month for Lincoln Riley’s crew as they were dominated at Notre Dame, losing 48–20.
Many around the USC program have spent the last week coming to the defense of embattled defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Despite the score, you could make the argument that down-in, down-out perhaps his defense held up more than it has in many other games this season, and they were behind the eight-ball from the start due to an absolute nightmare outing for Caleb Williams and the Trojans on offense.
It was a chilly game in slightly sloppy midwestern weather (a window into USC’s Big Ten future), and Notre Dame was able to disrupt Williams in myriad ways, coming after him over and over again. The Irish sacked him six times and handled his penchant to bail on the pockets with a dedicated game plan to mirror his movements. The pressure mightily rattled Williams, who threw three first-half interceptions.
