No. 21 Notre Dame routs Williams, No. 10 USC 48-20 COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

With its season in danger of spiraling, Notre Dame harassed the Heisman Trophy winner and knocked its fiercest rival from the rankings of the unbeaten.

Xavier Watts intercepted Caleb Williams twice and returned a fumble for a touchdown as No. 21 Notre Dame handed No. 10 Southern California its first loss in a 48-20 victory on Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.

Having lost twice in the last three games, the Fighting Irish (6-2) bounced back against their longtime rivals from the West Coast in a big way. Watts had two of Notre Dame’s three first-half picks against Williams and then a 15-yard scoop-and-score with 3:27 left to add an exclamation point.

“Obviously, we were coming off a loss to Louisville,” Watts said. “I was kind of angry from that. This was a big rivalry game. I just wanted to come out and dominate.”

Benjamin Morrison had Notre Dame’s other interception of the half, leading to Audric Estime’s 1-yard plunge that put Notre Dame ahead 24-3. A week after wiping out a 17-point deficit to beat Arizona in overtime, the Trojans (6-1) had no such comeback in them.

Williams had only been intercepted once, but he was sacked four times by the Fighting Irish and finished with 199 yards passing and a TD.

“I made mistakes that I usually don’t make,” Williams said. “Nights like that happen. You have to get through it, you got to keep fighting, you have to be a leader.”

n WILDCATS GET IT DONE: At Pullman, Wash., Noah Fifita threw for 342 yards, Jonah Coleman had 168 yards and three rushing touchdowns, and Arizona

forced three turnovers to rout No. 19 Washington State 44-6.

The Wildcats (4-3, 2-2 Pac-12) scored 44 straight points to break through in a big way after nearly upsetting top-10 teams the last two weeks.

Fifita started his third straight game in place of the injured Jayden de Laura, a former Washington State quarterback. He was masterful from the start against the Cougars (4-2, 1-2), who dropped their second consecutive game after starting 4-0 and reaching No. 13 in the AP Top 25.

Fifita was 34-of-43 passing, but didn’t throw for any touchdowns. Coleman scored on runs of 1, 1 and 23 yards; Rayshon Luke rushed for 70 yards, including a 40-yarder for a score; and DJ Williams scored from 15 yards. Coleman had four catches for 98 yards.

Kamehameha Schools Maui graduate Kapena Gushiken had a season-high six tackles, including three solo, for the Cougars.

n ’BAMA SURVIVES: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jalen Milroe passed for two touchdowns and rushed for a third, and No. 11 Alabama survived a second-half Arkansas rally in a 24-21 victory over the Razorbacks.

The Crimson Tide (61, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) blew most of an 18-point third-quarter lead before summoning a big final drive to keep KJ Jefferson and the Razorbacks offense off the field at the end,

The Tide remained the only SEC West team without a league loss, but they’re not coming in dominant fashion. Alabama had to recover a late onside kick to hold on for a 26-20 win over Texas A&M a week ago. This time the offense recovered from three straight three-and-out possessions to milk the final 5:19 off the clock.

The Razorbacks (2-5,

0-4) dropped their fifth straight game.