Notre Dame vs USC football history: Records, H2H stats and more

The USC Trojans left the sunny Southern California as they travel to cold South Bend, Indiana, to face Notre Dame in Week 7.

The battle between the ranked schools is a crucial one for both. The Fighting Irish have little choice but to beat their third ranked opponent of the season if they want to maintain their ranked status.

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Notre Dame vs USC Rivalry History

For the Trojans, this could be the encounter in which they derail themselves from reaching the Pac-12 title game. The Trojans, while undefeated so far, have had a series of close encounters that almost ended in defeat.

Last week, USC needed three overtime to beat a clearly inferior Arizona side 43-41. In Week 5, the Deion Sanders Colorado Buffaloes almost made the comeback against USC in the last minutes of the fourth quarter, with the final score being 48-41.

The Trojans have the blessing of being able to rely on the best quarterback in college football in Caleb Williams.

Williams is having another incredible season this year, throwing for 1822 yards with 22 touchdown passes and one interception in six games.

He has led a Trojans offensive unit that has scored more than 40 points in every game. The problems USC has stem from their lackluster defensive unit. Notre Dame will be the first ranked opponent they face this year and are ranked No. 10 in the nation.

Notre Dame is 5-2, with their first loss coming in Week 4 in a heartbreaking manner at home to Ohio State. They then beat their second ranked opponent of the season when they visited Durham, South Carolina, for their clash with the Duke Blue Devils.

However, in Week 6 they lost to another ACC school, the Louisville Cardinals. The Irish were ranked as high as No. 9, but with last week's defeat, they dropped to No. 21.

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Notre Dame vs USC: Head to Head

The Fighting Irish lead the series over the Trojans 50-38-5.

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How long have they faced each other?

The first game was held on Dec. 4, 1926, which Notre Dame won 13-12. Since then, the schools have faced each other regularly, with 94 meetings in 97 years.

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When was the last time Notre Dame beat USC?

Notre Dame beat the Southern California school 31-16 at home in 2021. The game was the final win of a four-game winning streak that went back to 2017. The Trojans were 38-27 last year, thanks to Caleb Williams.