Irish rout error-prone Trojans
Adams rushes for 191 yards, 3 TDs
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Brandon Wimbush passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more, Josh Adams added three touchdown runs and No. 16 Notre Dame took advantage of three turnovers by No. 10 Southern California to win 49-14 on Saturday night.
The Fighting Irish (6-1) turned all three USC turnovers into touchdowns, giving them their first victory against USC (6-2) when the Trojans were ranked since a 38-10 victory in 1995. The turnovers came on a fumble and interception by Sam Darnold and a dropped punt by Jack Jones.
Adams had an 84-yard touchdown run and finished with 191 yards on 19 carries. Wimbush ran for 106 yards on 14 carries as the Irish amassed 377 yards on the ground.
It was the fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season for Adams, quickest to 2,000 rushing yards in Notre Dame history at 316 carries. It took George Gipp 323 carries to set the mark. It was the third 100-yard rushing game for Wimbush, coming back from missing a game with an injured right foot.
Wimbush still wasn’t sharp passing, completing 9 of 19 passes for 120 yards. But he came up with key passes when needed.
Linebacker Te’Von Coney, starting because Greer Martini injured his knee during the bye week, got the Irish going on a strip-sack of Darnold on USC’s first play from scrimmage after Darnold bobbled the snap. Wimbush threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Equanimeous St. Brown three plays later. The Irish led 28-0 at halftime, Notre Dame’s secondlargest ever in the 89-game series.
Darnold completed 20 of 29 passes, but could not overcome the turnovers or USC being held to 76 yards rushing, including minus-4 in the first half. He threw two touchdown passes, the first cutting Notre Dame’s lead to 28-7.
THE TAKEAWAY
USC: The Trojans continue to shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers, with 19 on the season. Darnold is responsible for all but three. USC can still win the Pac-12 title, but a playoff berth appears nearly impossible.
Notre Dame: The Irish, just a season removed from an embarrassing 4-8 season, showed they deserve to be back in the national discussion and kept alive their hopes of ending a 29-year title drought.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
USC: A second straight loss will drop the Trojans, the question is whether the
blowout loss will drop them all the way out.
Notre Dame: The Irish, whose only loss was by a point to No. 3 Georgia, have a chance to move into the top 10.
IRISH DEFENSE
The Irish have held their opponent to 20 points or less in every game this season as USC running back Ronald Jones II’s streak of 13 straight games with a touchdown came to an end.
UP NEXT
USC: The Trojans play at Arizona
State.
Notre Dame: The Irish face another ranked opponent in No. 16 North Carolina State.
STARS
—Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma, threw for 410 yards and accounted for four TDs to help the No. 9 Sooners rally for a wild 42-35 victory over Kansas State.
—Darrin Hall, Pittsburgh, rushed for career highs of 254 yards and three TDs, including the go-ahead 4-yard score with 10:48 to play, to help the Panthers upset Duke 24-17. —Drew Lock, Missouri, threw for 467 yards and six TDs in the Tigers’ 68-21 win over Idaho.
—Logan Woodside, Toledo, threw for 304 yards and five TDs in a 48-21 victory over Akron.
—Anthony Lawrence, San Diego, threw a career-high six TD passes in a 63-10 win over Jacksonville.
—Jeremi Briscoe, Sam Houston State, threw for 371 yards and had four TD passes in the first half in a 63-27 victory over Lamar. —James Robinson, Illinois State, ran for a career-high 193 yards and two TDs in a 37-21 win over South Dakota.
NUMBERS
21—Straight completions to start the game by Princeton’s Chad Kanoff in a 52-17 win over Harvard.
22—Players in FBS history with 5,000 career yards rushing after Oregon’s Royce Freeman eclipsed the mark.
83—Years since Columbia last won seven straight games before this season. 600—Wins as a program by Bucknell . 804—Yards by Florida Atlantic in a 69-31 downing of North Texas, breaking the Conference-USA record .
MONTANA TECH SCORES 93
Jed Fike rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries in the first half alone, and NAIA’s Montana Tech had 932 total yards in a 93-19 victory over Montana State-Northern.
The total yards easily topped Montana Tech’s record of 679, also against MSUNorthern on Oct. 22, 2016. The Orediggers’ previous scoring high was 64 points against Rocky Mountain in 1981. Montana Tech’s 13 touchdowns also set a school mark, previously at nine TDs in 2016.
The Orediggers jumped out to a 66-0 lead by halftime. Fike had scores of 7, 37, 52, and 68 yards.