“Reload, reload reload.” This was a phrase echoed by head coach Marcus Freeman to his players as they moved throughout their final game of the regular season, with the USC Trojans as the last obstacle between the Irish and their first College Football Playoff appearance of the Freeman era. After 95 games in this rivalry, the battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh has been contested for decades. As seen in many rivalry games this weekend, nothing was guaranteed. This matchup was no exception.
On the 50th anniversary of “The Comeback Game,” the Trojans came ready to challenge the Irish at every turn. But with everything on the line, the Irish rose to the occasion and battled through adversity to secure a 49-35 victory and punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff.
Here’s how it happened.
First half: A tale of two quarters
The Irish opened the game with a steady start, capping their first drive with a late first-quarter touchdown. Star sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love delivered the score, making it his 17th touchdown of the season and etching his name into the Notre Dame record books. Love surpassed Wayne Bullock’s record for consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (1973-1974), extending his streak to 12 games. A spectacular hurdle later on in the game set the tone for his performance, though his day ended prematurely with 99 yards and a possible knee injury.
Senior quarterback Riley Leonard dodged sack attempts well throughout the first half and was accurate in the pocket, completing 77% of his passes on the day, his longest pass being a mere 23 yards. He passed for 155 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for another score for a total of 50 yards rushing on the day.
“He’s special,” Freeman said of Leonard. “You hear me say all the time, there's no difference between coaching and quarterback at Notre Dame. He experienced the highs and the lows within the first two weeks of the season, and he continued to battle, he continued to prepare, and I knew from the beginning he was the right quarterback to lead this program.”
The second quarter, however, started off on a different note. Senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas fumbled a pass from Leonard, setting up the Trojans’ first touchdown after a quick three-minute drive. This mistake certainly wasn’t the way the Irish hoped to start the quarter.
The next Irish drive stalled with a three-and-out but gained momentum with a clever fake punt throw by senior wide receiver Tyler Buchner to hit senior tight end Mitchell Evans for a first down. Despite this Buchner cameo, the Irish failed to find the end zone, and a missed field goal by graduate kicker Mitch Jeter left the game tied at halftime. This miss highlighted ongoing struggles in the kicking game at arguably the worst possible time of the season.
While Notre Dame converted well on third downs in the opening quarter, the Irish faltered in the second, illuminating an inconsistent first-half performance that left them searching for answers at half.
Second half: Irish pull away and close with flair
The third quarter opened with plenty of back-and-forth action. The Irish struck first, with Leonard connecting on a short pass to junior running back Jadarian Price, who broke through a lane and dashed 36 yards for the touchdown. USC quickly responded with a rushing score up the middle by quarterback Jayden Maiava, exposing defensive gaps that Notre Dame appeared to be struggling with all day.
The normally solid Christian Gray had a particularly rough time this quarter, being targeted on USC’s past two touchdown drives enabled by his two pass interference penalties. However, the sophomore cornerback would later redeem himself with critical plays.
Notre Dame punched back, with Leonard plunging two yards into the end zone to make it 28-21 on the following Irish drive.
But the momentum briefly swung back to USC when Leonard’s deep pass intended for graduate wide receiver Kris Mitchell was intercepted by Anthony Beavers Jr., who returned it to the Notre Dame 45-yard line. However, the Trojans failed to capitalize as dropped passes and graduate safety Xavier Watts' strong defensive presence halted their progress.
Leonard bounced back from his previous interception, finding Price for a 34-yard rush for a crucial first down. Building on that energy, Leonard connected with Mitchell Evans for a touchdown that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 35-21. It marked their largest lead of the game, eliciting the loudest roar of the day from Irish fans.
The Irish defense became more lively at the end of quarter three. Back-and-forth play continued, with the tenacious Christian Gray on the scene making up for his past plays with a pass breakup.
“I just got to break through the chains,” Gray said. “It's like, that's what I said in my head. And I just just screamed it out. Because the best thing to do is just kind of scream it out, and they just go ball out.”
USC had some major completions, bringing it into the red zone minutes into the fourth quarter and eventually into the end zone for a 35-28 score.
After a major gain by the Trojans, dueling chants of “Let’s go, Irish” and “Let’s go, Trojans” echoed through the Coliseum. The energy seemed to spark the Irish defense, as Gray delivered a stunning, 99-yard pick-six that extended Notre Dame's lead to 42-28 with under four minutes remaining.
Later, the Irish defense struck again. Watts intercepted a pass and sprinted 100 yards for another pick-six to leave no question of the game. While the Trojans managed a late touchdown, it wasn’t enough to alter the outcome. The Trojans managed a touchdown in the last few seconds, though the final score favored the Irish 49-35 as Notre Dame fans overwhelmed the sea of red that once was.
Up next is uncharted territory for the Irish as they await their opponent in the CFP. But, in the meantime, Freeman plans to celebrate the hard-fought win.
“Listen, we have to celebrate this thing first, and these guys work way too hard not to take a moment and enjoy the state of this,” Freeman said. “This is what I call teamwork, and it's where everybody in that locker room knows they have a part of us achieving. That it's not one person, it's everybody that it takes getting their job done for us to achieve this great feeling that we have.”
