(Photo: Chad Ryan)
Until about an hour before kickoff, the story in South Bend wasn’t just a top-25 showdown between two historic rivals — it was whether the game would even be played. Thunderstorms stretched all the way from Omaha to Osceola. About a hundred or so sportswriters sat in the press box nine floors above it all playing amateur meteorologists, tracking the radar.
But maybe the football gods decided this one was too good to miss. The game kicked off on time, the steady rain never turned nasty, and the 77,622 fans in attendance were treated to a classic performance in the House That Rockne Built — one that featured Jeremiyah Love rewriting the record books and Jadarian Price electrifying the crowd with a momentum-flipping kickoff return.
Jeremiyah Love, rushed for a career-high 228 yards on 24 carries — the most ever by a Fighting Irish back in Notre Dame Stadium history — and added a touchdown. Jadarian Price contributed 87 rushing yards, a touchdown, and a 100-yard kickoff return at 4:17 of the third quarter that flipped the momentum and put the Irish ahead for good, 27-24. The Irish piled up 306 rushing yards aginst a defense that had been allowing just 108.5 a game.
Price’s electrifying play, the third kickoff return TD of his career, was the kind of whiplash momentum swing that makes rivalry games great, and it sent the crowd into a frenzy. “After I broke the first tackle, I knew I was going to the house. It was déjà vu. It was like two years ago.” Said Price who also returned a second half kickoff for a touchdown against USC in Notre Dame stadium in 2023.
Postgame Love summed up what his historic game against USC, “It’s an honor to play for Notre Dame and to help put the Irish on a pedestal,” And paid tribute to his team’s ability to overcome adversity, “Our guys kept battling and kept battling, and that’s what it takes to have success.”
While Love and Price dominated on the ground, the Irish defense had some impressive moments as well. Notre Dame held USC to 68 rushing yards after the Trojans had rushed for 225 yards against MIchigan last week. Leonard Moore shadowed USC all-world wideout Makai Lemon all over the field, holding him to just four catches for 76 yards. Chris Ash’s defense forced three second-half turnovers, keeping the Trojans from mounting a comeback.
It was the kind of performance that underscores Marcus Freeman’s emphasis on winning in the trenches. “For the most part, we stopped them in the run game and that was the challenge,” Freeman said postgame.
Quarterback C.J. Carr had a modest day by numbers — 16-of-26 for 136 yards and a touchdown — and he threw an ugly interception on a first half goal-line opportunity. Yet even with that misstep, the ground game and opportunistic defense carried the Irish, showcasing a balanced, resilient team capable of winning in a lot of different ways.
“CJ is an ultra-competitor,” Freeman said. “He’s resilient. He came back in the second half and really did a good job of leading our offense down the field.”
Saturday night’s rain soaked victory wasn’t just a win; it was a statement. Notre Dame now has five straight victories and looks poised not only to contend for a College Football Playoff berth but to play “bull in the china shop” once it gets there.
With the schedule easing up and a bye week coming, the team can savor this victory while preparing for remaining challenges, including always tricky Navy (6-0) and a surging Pittsburgh (5-2).
Saturday was also a showcase of why the ND–USC rivalry must endure. From Love’s record-setting rushing performance to Price’s electrifying kickoff return, from key defensive stops to the unpredictable twists brought by rain, this was the kind of hard-fought, dramatic contest that wil live long in college football’s memory.
The weather that had threatened to derail the game actually became a factor that will serve to enhance the memory of the battle and triumph of the Irish in another Notre Dame–USC classic.
And with this performance, Notre Dame didn’t just win a rivalry game — they announced themselves as a team that can dominate in any phase, a squad poised to make serious noise in the College Football Playoff, and one that few opponents will want to face when the stakes are at their highest.