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Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will beat USC in Week 8

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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CHESTNUT HILL, MA – SEPTEMBER 16: Josh Adams #33 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
CHESTNUT HILL, MA – SEPTEMBER 16: Josh Adams #33 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the ball during the first half against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

2. Josh Adams will out-rush USC’s entire team

Josh Adams is good. That much we do know about Notre Dame’s talented junior running back. What else do we know? He’s probably good for a monster game against one of the worst rushing defenses in the Pac-12.

In fact, USC ranks 61st in college football in terms of rushing defense, allowing 146 yards per game on the ground. That may not seem like a terrible mark, but the conference is known more for passing attacks than ground games. However, the game against Stanford and Bryce Love did balloon those numbers a bit.

Love might be slightly better this season than Josh Adams and could even be the Heisman front-runner, but the Notre Dame rusher shouldn’t be overlooked. He has 776 yards and five touchdowns on 9.0 yards per carry and that’s with him sharing some carries with Dexter Williams, Tony Jones Jr. and Deon McIntosh.

On Saturday night, the junior back will have a monster game and nearly reach the 200-yard mark, out-rushing Ronald Jones II and USC’s entire team. The Trojans average just 180 yards per game on the ground and they will struggle to come close to that.

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