Turnover rate
USC plays No. 14 Notre Dame in the 87th meeting between the rivals. For the Trojans, it will be their first game since Steve Sarkisian was fired as head coach. Times staff writer Gary Klein examines the matchups and story lines:
Revolving door
USC’s Clay Helton will be the fourth USC coach in four seasons to match wits with Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly, who has come up in speculation about who might become the Trojans’ permanent head coach.
Asked to respond to a published report that listed him among potential candidates, Kelly told reporters, “How about what we do here is we avoid the noise, and that would be considered a lot of noise.”
Kelly said he informed his team the Trojans would have an interim coach but did not go into many details.
“Teams come together under those circumstances and they’re going to play their very best,” he said. “And I just reminded them of that.”
In 2012, Lane Kiffin was USC’s coach in the Trojans’ 22-13 loss at the Coliseum.
Interim coach Ed Orgeron brought the Trojans to South Bend in 2013 and lost, 14-10.
Last season, Sarkisian guided the Trojans to a 49-14 victory over the Fighting Irish at the Coliseum.
Arms race
USC quarterback Cody Kessler is coming off a shaky performance in the Trojans’ 17-12 upset loss against Washington.
Kessler had two passes intercepted and passed for only 156 yards, with no touchdowns. He was sacked five times, in part because center Max Tuerk left the game because of a seasonending knee injury.
Sophomore Toa Lobendahn replaced Tuerk and will start against Notre Dame.
Kessler has passed for 15 touchdowns, with three interceptions.
Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer became the starter after Malik Zaire suffered a seasonending ankle injury in the second game, against Virginia.
Kizer, 6 feet 41⁄2 inches and 230 pounds, has completed 66% of his passes, eight for touchdowns, with four interceptions. He also has rushed for three touchdowns.
Run around
USC’s Tre Madden rushed for 120 yards in 17 carries against Washington, but he has been nursing injuries.
This could be the game in which freshman Ronald
Jones II gets his heaviest workload. Jones has averaged 8.1 yards per carry and has play-breaking capability. Junior Justin Davis, who had rushed for two touchdowns, suffered a broken ankle two years ago against Notre Dame.
Tarean Folston, Notre Dame’s top returning running back, suffered a season-ending knee injury against Texas in the opener.
C.J. Prosise is averaging 129.8 yards rushing per game. He has run for nine touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass. Last week against Navy, he rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
Depleted receivers
JuJu Smith-Schuster has 33 receptions and six
touchdowns for a USC receiver corps depleted by injuries.
Steven Mitchell Jr., who has four touchdowns, probably won’t play because of an ankle injury suffered against Washington. Isaac Whitney, who has two touchdowns, has a broken collarbone.
Darreus Rogers could return from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for most of the last two games.
Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson is expected to get more opportunities at receiver.
Notre Dame’s Will Fuller is regarded as one of college football’s top receivers.
The junior from Philadelphia has 29 receptions, seven for touchdowns, and is averaging 19.5 yards per catch.
Familiar face
Amir Carlisle, who began his career at USC before transferring to Notre Dame after the 2011 season, has caught 16 passes.
He also is averaging 19.5 yards per kickoff return.
Getting defensive
USC’s defense, under fire after a loss to Stanford, has played well the last two games.
The Trojans gave up 14 points against Arizona State, 17 against Washington.
Linebacker Su’a Cravens leads the Trojans with four tackles for losses. Cornerback Iman Marshall, who intercepted a pass against Washington, appears recovered from an abdominal injury that prevented him from finishing the game.
Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith has a teambest 42 tackles, 51⁄2 for losses. Linebacker Joe Schmidt, who played at Santa Ana Mater Dei High, has three tackles for losses. Cornerback Cole Luke has two interceptions.