USC’s Helton on hot seat vs. Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND, IND.» Brian Kelly of No. 9 Notre Dame knows a little how his Southern California counterpart Clay Helton might feel as their teams prepare for their 91st meeting Saturday night.

“What was the over-under that I’d make 10 USC games?” the Fighting Irish coach joked about whispers of his job security despite two 12-0 regular seasons, a trip to the national championship game in 2013 and a playoff berth last season.

The coaching seat always seems warm at these two storied programs and, at the moment, it’s Helton’s turn. His unranked Trojans (3-2) would get a huge boost with a win against Notre Dame (4-1), which is a 10 ½-point favorite.

The 47-year-old Helton, who is 35-19 with 12 victories over Top 25 teams since being named coach in 2015, received a vote of confidence of sorts from interim athletic director Dave Roberts, who told the Los Angeles Times he would leave Helton’s fate in the hands of his successor.

“If he has a successful season,” Roberts said, “I think he’ll be in good stead.”

Helton is 1-3 against Notre Dame and Kelly is 6-3 against USC. While Helton has gone about the business of bringing the Trojans through a bye week following their 28-14 loss at Washington, Notre Dame is coming off convincing victories over Virginia (35-20) and Bowling Green (52-0).

Kelly is nonetheless wary. “(Helton’s) done a terrific job keeping his team in the hunt,” Kelly said. “It’s a dangerous team.”

True freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis, who took over when J.T. Daniels went down with a season-ending knee injury in the opener, returns after missing the Washington loss with a concussion.

“We’re glad to have him back,” Helton said of Slovis, who has completed 77.9% of his passes for 732 yards and five touchdowns. “I think one of the biggest things for us will be protecting the quarterback.”