USC Football 2018: 5 reasons Trojans will upset Notre Dame
By Zach Bigalke
3. USC will win the battle at the line of scrimmage against Notre Dame
Over the course of 2018, USC has been a middle-of-the-road team when it comes to protecting their quarterbacks and opening holes for their running backs. The Trojans enter the Notre Dame game sitting 69th in the country in sacks allowed and 62nd in total tackles for loss given up to their opponents.
When they are on defense, the Trojans have similarly been good but not great. They average 2.36 sacks and 6.7 tackles for loss per game, putting them 50th and 40th respectively in those two categories.
On Saturday, USC will take on a Notre Dame team that has done a solid job of protecting their stars and plowing open space in opposing front sevens. But rivalry games bring out the best in the teams that play them, and the Trojans will be no exception.
Look for the USC offensive line to keep JT Daniels upright heading into the final regular-season game of his freshman year. Aca’Cedric Ware and Vavae Malepeai are going to see plenty of daylight to run through. And the Irish will have few answers to stop the Trojans from keeping up the productivity throughout the day.