AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
The No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to the No. 6 USC Trojans 38-27 on Saturday and fell to 8-4 on the season following an uninspired performance from the defense.
Notre Dame’s defense failed to contain Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams and the USC offense through all four quarters of Saturday’s game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Williams, a Heisman Trophy favorite, completed 18-of-22 passes for 232 yards and one touchdown, in addition to rushing for 35 yards and three scores on nine carries. Trojans running back Austin Jones also rushed for 154 yards on 25 carries.
USC put up at least one touchdown in each quarter and totaled 436 yards of offense against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish defense didn’t force one turnover, and they allowed the Trojans to convert 8-of-12 third-down attempts.
Following the loss, college football Twitter ripped the Notre Dame defense for its performance:
Wurm @cats_souls
this #notredame loss is on the defense
Murphy’sLaw @Zambonichaser_1
Notre Dame Defense…..woof that was a bad. #USCvNotreDame #Irish
Clark W Griswold @chicagojim96
#NotreDame’s defense putting on a clinic for how not to tackle. This is so painful to watch.
Saturday’s loss was a tough way for the Fighting Irish to end their 2022 season, but there’s optimism they’ll be better in 2023 with another full season of Marcus Freeman at the helm.