GAME THREAD: #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish VS USC Trojans

FOR FREEDOM AND THE JEWELED SHILLELAGH!

The second season begins for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight as the rival USC Trojans return to South Bend for a prime time matchup. For as bas as the Trojans have been this year, they still sit tied with Notre Dame for the nation’s longest road winning streak at 8 games.

It’s been an uneasy ride for the first six games of the season. While the next six games provide their own set of challenges, it does look to be an easier road for the Irish. Without question the single biggest issue with Notre Dame to this point has been their quarterback play. Through it all, it does look like it will be Jack Coan the rest of the way with Tyler Buchner sprinkled in at times — or even poured on at times.

Tonight, we will get our first look at what Brian Kelly and Tommy Rees have been working on over the last two weeks. Perhaps we will see a team with a better sense of purpose and one that will lay waste to inferior opponents… like Southern Cal.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Irish have held pretty steady all week long as a 7 point favorite. The over/under is set at 59, so my OFD Podcast prediction of a 36-24 Irish win is at least reasonable — though at this moment I’m screaming out FORTY NINE TO FOURTEEN to the dismay of my wife sleeping beside me.

WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH

When: 7:30 PM EST
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
How to Watch: NBC and also streaming on Peacock

ALL THE GOODS

Just in case you missed some of the coverage this week, let me remind you that everything you need to know is in the GAME WEEK STREAM.

GAME THREAD

The game thread is open below. I know many of us are on Twitter for most of the game, but I encourage you to vent and do other things that require more than 280 characters here.

UND.com