Notre Dame football was in a dog fight with the USC Trojans all game, but did enough to come out victorious 49-35, in the highest scoring game in series history.
The win was the Irish’s 10th in-a-row, as they finish the regular season with a 11-1 record and await their seeding in the College Football Playoff. The loss for the Trojans puts their record at 6-6, a very disappointing season in their first year in the Big Ten.
Notre Dame jumped out to a first quarter 7-0 lead before the Trojans tied the game early in the second quarter. The Irish and USC would exchange touchdowns as the game was tied 14-14 heading into the half.
A monster third quarter from the Irish would see them score three touchdowns to USC one, as they’d take a 35-21 lead into the fourth quarter. The Trojans would make it interesting, scoring early in the final stanza to cut the lead to just 7-points.
The Irish defense then took over, as both Christian Gray and Xavier Watts returned long interceptions for touchdowns. Gray tied the school record with 99-yards on his, only to be bested by Watts and his 100-yard pick-6.
Notre Dame has now finished its regular season portion of the schedule, as they will find out in a little over a week who they’ll play in the CFP.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame football fends off USC, finishes regular season with 10-game win streak
