Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Southern California Trojans Match Player Stats On Nov 24, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 24, 2012

No. 1 Notre Dame 22, Southern California 13: Theo Riddick rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and Manti Te’o grabbed his seventh interception as the visiting Fighting Irish clinched their spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

Everett Golson passed for 217 yards and rushed for 47 more and Kyle Brindza kicked five field goals for Notre Dame (12-0), which clinched its first undefeated regular season since 1988 and will likely face the SEC winner in the championship game.

Redshirt freshman Max Wittek threw for 186 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice for the Trojans (7-5), who have dropped four of their last five games. Senior quarterback Matt Barkley missed the game with a shoulder injury.

Brindza kicked a 27-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game and Riddick capped a 12-play, 87-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:48 left in the first quarter to give the Irish an early 10-0 lead.

Wittek found Robert Woods for an 11-yard touchdown five seconds into the second quarter, but Southern Cal would not find the end zone again. Brindza’s career-long 52-yard kick as time expired sent Notre Dame into the locker room with a 16-10 edge and a 33-yard boot with 31 seconds left in the third made it a two-possession game.

The Trojans had a chance to get back into it in the fourth quarter, when Wittek hit Marqise Lee with a 53-yard completion to get them inside the Irish 5-yard line with just under six minutes left. But USC was stopped on five straight plays, burning over three minutes off the clock as the Irish completed the goal-line stand.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame has not won a National Championship since 1988. … Te’o got the better of Lee in a battle of Heisman contenders by leading another stout defensive effort for the Irish. Lee was limited to five catches for 75 yards. … The Trojans went 1-of-8 on third down and 0-of-1 on fourth down.