Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs USC Trojans Match Player Stats On Nov 26, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Nov 26, 2016

USC defensive back Adoree' Jackson scored on offense and twice on special teams, and the No. 12-ranked Trojans continued their late-season surge with a 45-27 win over Notre Dame on Saturday at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Jackson had a 55-yard punt return and a 97-yard kickoff return for touchdowns and also caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sam Darnold for the Trojans, who won their eighth in a row.

USC (9-3) needs Utah to defeat Colorado on Saturday night to earn a spot in the Pac-12 championship game against Washington.

Darnold completed 19 of 29 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder to JuJu Smith-Schuster that put the Trojans in command, leading 45-21 with 9:40 left in the third quarter.

Darnold was inserted into the starting lineup a month into the season and has completely turned the Trojans around from a 1-3 start.

Notre Dame has gone in the opposite direction and lost for the fourth time in the last six games to end a troublesome 4-8 season that included off-the-field issues.

On Tuesday, the NCAA ruled the Irish must vacate 21 wins, including all 12 from their undefeated regular season in 2012, the result of an academic misconduct case. Pending an appeal, they'll also lose their nine wins from 2013.

Despite the distractions, Notre Dame came to play early. Josh Adams' 74-yard run set up the Fighting Irish's first touchdown, a 1-yard plunge by quarterback DeShone Kizer for a 7-3 lead early in the first quarter.

USC responded with a 51-yard touchdown run by Ronald Jones and took a 10-7 lead into the second quarter, when rain and windy conditions arrived at the Coliseum.

The Trojans were clinging to a three-point lead in the second quarter when Jackson made his first momentum-shifting play. He returned Tyler Newsome's punt untouched to extend the USC lead to 17-7 with one minute left in the first half.

On Notre Dame's next offensive possession, USC defensive back Ajene Harris picked off Kizer and raced 33 yards to give the Trojans a 24-7 lead at halftime. USC scored 14 points in 17 seconds to grab the momentum heading into the second half.

Notre Dame capitalized on a Jackson fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half and cut the USC lead to 24-14 on a touchdown pass from Kizer to Chris Finke.

Jackson would make amends on the Trojans' next possession, scoring his first offensive touchdown of the season on a pass from Darnold.

Kizer finished 17 of 32 for 220 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Irish.

Jones finished with 134 yards on 16 carries for USC.

NOTES: Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly called the NCAA penalty in academic misconduct case "discretionary" and "clearly excessive." ... The game was the last for USC's horse mascot Traveler. .... Adoree' Jackson's punt return for a touchdown was the fourth of his career, tying him for most in USC history. ... Referee Ron Cherry was injured in a collision with a USC player and had to leave the game in the third quarter. ... Notre Dame leads the all-time series 46-36-5.