The Trojans emerged with a 49-14 victory over Notre Dame at home in the final game of the regular season. What looked to be a promising first half of the season for the Irish quickly turned bad with a loss at FSU, later followed by four additional losses and quickly-eliminated playoff hopes. Although both teams have enough wins to be considered bowl eligible, Notre Dame might not see a post season bowl game invitation and Southern Cal certainly isn’t guaranteed one either with the limited number of spots available.
USC quarterback Cody Kessler was a standout player for the Trojans, completing 32 of 40 passes for 372 yard and six touchdowns. He also did not throw any interceptions. Meanwhile, Notre Game head coach Brian Kelly opted to bench starting quarterback Everett Golson after an unimpressive, scoreless first quarter. Second string quarterback Malik Zaire completed one of two touchdowns for the Fighting Irish with an 11 yard run in the second quarter. Greg Bryant ran for one yard to add the final seven points during the third quarter.
Notre Dame’s defensive line was noticeably and undeniably weakened with the loss of several key defense players. The ease with which Kessler led his team past the Irish defense was largely accountable for the 35 unanswered points USC scored, an answer that didn’t come until the last five minutes of the first half. Notably, neither team added any additional points during the entire fourth quarter.
Southern Cal has enormous potential in QB Cody Kessler, who still has one remaining season of eligibility. With a completion rate of over 70% for 36 touchdowns and throwing only four interceptions over the course of the 2014 season, Kessler has certainly shown growth and demonstrated capability as a team leader. It will certainly be interesting to see what he does for the Trojans in 2015.
Notre Dame will be without starting QB Everett Golson next fall, after he completes this, his final season of college play for the Irish. Although there was talk earlier in the season of Golson’s NFL draft potential, it is now uncertain whether Golson will enter the draft and what his future in football holds.
The Trojans finish with an 8-4 season, most losses with a relatively small point margin; Steve Sarkisian had a pretty good first season as head coach, despite struggles against ranked opponents. Notre Dame finishes with a 7-5 record, nothing overwhelming for Brian Kelly’s fifth season with the Fighting Irish.
*Section Photo credit to Victor Decolongon, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Cary Edmondson, USA Today Sports
