Notre Dame at USC: How to watch, tips and odds as the Irish try to secure a CFP spot

November 30, 2024

Notre Dame and USC continue one of college football’s most storied rivalries on Saturday, and there’s absolutely a lot at stake for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame doesn’t just go into the game as a touchdown favorite on the road.

No. 5 Notre Dame at USC

As long as Notre Dame takes care of business and wins, it should secure a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff and could likely finish at No. 6 or 7. A loss, which would be their second of the season along with the blowout loss to Northern Illinois earlier in the year, would leave the Irish sweating over the next two weeks.

Although Notre Dame didn’t play the toughest squad in the country, it did its part by completely blowing out almost every team it played. During its current nine-game winning streak, Notre Dame has won seven of those games by at least 20 points and an eighth game by 18 points. This includes massive victories over the then high-ranking naval and army soldiers.

Quarterback Riley Leonard is also slowly getting going and playing better football. After throwing just six touchdown passes in his first seven games, he had eight touchdown passes (with just one interception) in the last four games.

USC, meanwhile, struggled in its first Big Ten football season, but was able to win at least two consecutive games to qualify for the bowl. Don’t let the pedestrian 6-5 record fool you too much either. All five of those losses came by a single possession, including a three-point overtime loss to No. 4 Penn State. USC has the talent to make this game a battle, and you can’t use the rivalry factor or the potential to Never underestimate the role of spoilsport.