The 13th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the 5-1 and 20th-ranked USC Trojans this weekend in their annual battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, a trophy that's spent the majority of it's time in South Bend since 2010. The offense is preparing to take on a defense that has struggled this season, but is coming off of a performance where they held Michigan's offense to just 13 points. The Irish offense has sputtered slightly the last couple of weeks, adding to the magnitude of this matchup. We've broken down the three biggest storylines, two biggest battles and one player to keep your eye on for the offense in Saturday's rivalry game.
Three Biggest Storylines
1. Joe Otting's First Start - The Notre Dame offensive line received some unfortunate new this past week. Center Ashton Craig will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury sustained against NC State which means redshirt sophomore Joe Otting will get his first start on the national stage. Otting played 21 snaps against the Wolfpack last weekend and will be gearing up to face a large USC defensive line this weekend. Otting took the majority of reps in the spring while Craig was working his way back from a knee injury sustained last season, so he has experience playing with the first team offense. This weekend, however, will be the biggest test of his career.
2. CJ Carr's Biggest Test Since Week Three - Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has been playing like a top five quarterback in college football this season. Saturday night, Carr will face his toughest test since week three of the regular season. The moment hasn't been too big for Carr, not his first start on the road against Miami or his first start inside of Notre Dame Stadium at night against an SEC team. Rivalry games, however, are a little different than Texas A&M at home or Boise State at home. Add in the fact that this could be the last regular season meeting between these two historic programs for quite some time, Saturday night will test the maturity of the Saline, Michigan native.
3. Big Test For The Offensive Line - USC's defensive line has totaled 100 pressures this season through six games and they've been extremely efficient. Of their 100 total pressures, 44 of them have resulted in hits or sacks on the quarterback. Notre Dame's pass protection the last three weeks has been exceptional, but that performance will have to maintain against a big and long USC defensive front. Carr has shown that when he has time to throw, he'll pick defenses apart and remain on schedule. The last couple of weeks, this offense has shown that when they get off schedule, they'll struggle to move the football.
Two Key Battles
1. Notre Dame's Interior Offensive Line vs USC's Interior Defensive Line - USC has some massive bodies along the interior of their defensive line. Last week, we saw Notre Dame's interior offensive line struggled with NC State's interior defense line at times which resulted in some negative plays. The Trojan's interior defensive line features Devan Thompkins (6-5, 290-pounds), Jide Abasiri (6-5, 295), Keeshawn Silver (6-4, 330-pounds) and Jahkeem Stewart (6-5, 290-pounds). This isn't the biggest interior defensive line this unit has faced, but they have a lot of length and athleticism. Add in the fact that Otting is making his first start at center, the battle between Notre Dame's interior offensive line against USC's interior defensive line will be one to keep your eye on throughout the night.
2. Jeremiyah Love vs Eric Gentry - Last season, running back Jeremiyah Love ran wild in the first half against this USC defense finishing with 99 rushing yards in two quarters. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish after sustaining a knee injury which sidelined him until their home playoff game against Indiana. USC was without one of their best defensive players at linebacker; Eric Gentry was also out for the game due to an injury sustained earlier in the season. This weekend, both Love and Gentry are healthy and ready to square off this weekend. Love leads the team in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and is tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns. Gentry leads the team in tackles and run stops. Expect this to be a physical battle Saturday night.
One Player To Watch: Quarterback CJ Carr
As he should be, Carr has been one of the hottest topics in college football this season. He's thrown for 1,622 yards, completed 66.5% of his passes, thrown 13 touchdowns, rushed for another and only thrown three interceptions in his first six games of action. He was thrown into the fire in his first collegiate start down in Hard Rock Stadium against Miami and followed that performance up with a 293-yard performance against Texas A&M at home under the lights.
That being said, a lot of players are remembered by their performances in rivalry games, and it doesn't get much bigger for Notre Dame than when they host USC. This rivalry has seen spectacular performances from quarterbacks in the past like Brady Quinn in 2005, Deshone Kizer in 2015, Ian Book in 2018 and now Carr has his opportunity to etch his name in the history books. This could be the last regular season meeting between these two teams for quite some time and Notre Dame has the opportunity to end it on a high note. Their redshirt freshman quarterback will have to be at the top of his game Saturday night, and if he is, this offense will be rolling.
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