USC vs. Notre Dame

A lot of hype for this game but I think it will live up to its billing either way. If ND can make a game out of it then people will be calling Charlie Weis a genius and the ND recruiting bandwagon will get a huge boost. If USC rolls - then people will say that USC is unquestionably the best team in the country. If Notre Dame manages a win then restaurants across the country will be putting Charlie Weis burgers on their permanent menus.

Some random thoughts about the game:

- Notre Dame has played USC four times when USC was ranked #1 and the Irish have lost all four of those games.

- If Brady Quinn ends with better stats than Matt Leinart then the Heisman Trophy becomes anyone's to win.

- As of this morning the line is USC -12.5 and the over / under is set at 70. I don't like to bet on teams I like (and I like Notre Dame) because it just doesn't seem right. However, if I had to bet on something - I would take the under. 70 points is a lot and I think both teams will try to run as much as possible to chew up the clock and get field position. As many have pointed out - the key to a ND win will be keeping the USC offense off the field and that means ball control (and maybe a low point total).

- Pat Forde has a nice article on Charlie Weis's kingmaking moment.

- Look for ND receiver Jeff Samardzija to have a big day. I wouldn't be surprised to see Weis run the quick pass to Samardzija the way he used to run the quick pass to Troy Brown in New England. I'd even look for one of these passes in the first series of downs and maybe the first ND play from scrimmage.

- I'm starting to get the feeling that this will be a game that be decided on a single turnover.

- Everyone has been making comparisons between this game and ND's games against Nebraska, Miami and Florida State back when those teams were ranked #1 and came into South Bend to receive a beating. For me this game has more of a feel of the Patriots / Rams Super Bowl where the Patriots were a blue collar team and the Rams were the greatest show on turf.



HT to SI's John Walters for the photo