Notre Dame Beats USC 34-24 Behind Dominant Ground Game

Notre Dame relied on a dominant ground game and timely turnovers to beat USC 34-24 Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium, handing the Trojans a damaging defeat in a rivalry matchup that carried College Football Playoff implications for both programs. The Irish scored 13 unanswered points in the second half, with running back Jeremiyah Love rushing for a career-high 228 yards and Jadarian Price adding 87 rushing yards and a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown.

The game, played under intermittent rain that soaked the field for much of the second half, remained on schedule after lightning in the area briefly delayed fan entry before kickoff. Notre Dame controlled the line of scrimmage, finishing with 306 rushing yards to USC’s 68, and forced several critical turnovers that swung momentum in its favor. Christian Gray intercepted a pass late in the third quarter, Adon Shuler forced a fumble on a fourth-quarter trick play that Kyngstonn ViliamuAsa recovered, and Luke Talich intercepted Jayden Maiava with just over a minute left to seal the outcome.

Quarterback CJ Carr was 16 of 26 for 136 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and he capped the game with a one-yard rushing score that...