USC Football 2018: 5 reasons Trojans will upset Notre Dame

1. The Trojans will cut down on penalty flags versus Notre Dame

In 2018, USC has cost themselves dearly when it comes to taking penalties. The Trojans see an average of eight yellow flags and lost nearly 74 penalty yards per game. As a result, the Trojans are situated as the 116th-ranked FBS team in flags incurred and the 120th-ranked team in terms of yards lost to infractions this season.

Against a Notre Dame team that has been relatively disciplined this year, the Trojans are going to be on their best behavior. At home against a rival, Clay Helton’s team is going to do their best to prevent the officiating crew from giving the Fighting Irish any advantages on Saturday in Los Angeles.

USC is hardly going to be perfect. But even if they scale back by just two penalties and 14 lost yards, the Trojans will have a much sounder footing for taking down Notre Dame in an upset that will knock the Fighting Irish down the College Football Playoff Top 25.