It was a slightly frustrating performance at times, but Notre Dame football came out with a huge 34 to 24 victory over the USC Trojans on Saturday night. This is a historic rivalry for the Fighting Irish program, so any time head coach Marcus Freeman and his squad can come out with a victory, it’s a great day. Enjoying the win in front of your home crowd makes it even sweeter. 

Like every game, there were some tremendous performances for Notre Dame on Saturday, and there were also some poor moments as well. While they’re all winners technically, some Irish standouts played much better compared to others. Here were the biggest winners and losers from the Fighting Irish victory. 

Winners 

Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman campaign 

The junior running back is one of the very best offensive players we have ever seen wear the blue and gold. The 6-0, 214-pound runner turned in the best rushing performance of his career, exploding for 228 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Love also hauled in five receptions for 37 yards in the game as well. Following the performance for Love, you are going to hear his name brought up more and more in Heisman Trophy conversations. While the deck is probably stacked against him to win the award, Love absolutely deserves to be a part of the conversation at least. In seven games, Love has rushed for 758 yards and nine touchdowns, while also catching 19 passes for 197 yards and three more scores. 

Jadarian Price 

He will get a bit overshadowed at times playing behind Love, but Price is putting together a very good season for Notre Dame in 2025. Price ended the night with 87 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. The redshirt junior also hauled in one reception for nine yards on top of returning the third kickoff of his career for a touchdown. Notre Dame is blessed to have two of the very best running backs in all of college football. 

Leonard Moore 

From the onset of the football game, Moore lined up in the slot against star wide receiver Makai Lemon, and he turned in a huge performance. The sophomore ended the game with a modest stat line of three total tackles, but for anyone who watched the contest, you know how good Moore was in this game. The 6-2, 195-pound cover man can play either outside cornerback spot and inside at nickel, which is so valuable in today’s game. 

Adon Shuler

Aside from tight end Lake McRee scoring an early touchdown on Shuler (it was still good coverage), he played a tremendous game. The redshirt sophomore finished the day with 10 total tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. The New Jersey native was all over the field, and made several big plays.

Joe Otting and the offensive line 

If you would have told anyone that it was center Joe Otting’s first career start, nobody would have believed you. The 6-3, 308-pound redshirt sophomore played exceptionally well, showcasing impressive movement skills and high effort as a blocker. The whole interior for the Irish was very good in this game, and both Anthonie Knapp and Aamil Wagner played well at offensive tackle. This was the best overall offensive line performance of the season for Notre Dame. 

Losers

CJ Carr 

This was the worst game of Carr’s career so far, and it isn’t particularly close. The 6-3, 210-pound passer struggled with accuracy mightily during the contest, and he also made a couple of head of scratching decisions as well. The redshirt freshman finished the game completing 16 of 26 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and -7 yards rushing. Carr is going to have to be a lot better in big games in the future. 

Christian Gray 

It feels weird to include a cornerback who had two interceptions during the victory, but Gray just didn’t play very well overall. He struggled to give up some big plays, while also having a few too many penalties. There is some boom or bust to Gray’s game, which is really frustrating at times. It feels like Gray really lacks confidence right now, and he will have to find some down the stretch of the season. 

Field goal kicking 

It didn’t hurt Notre Dame in this particular game but leaving points off the board can prove to be disastrous in big games. Former UNC transfer kicker Noah Burnette missed a field goal and an extra point during the victory. The field goal came from just 31 yards, which should be nearly automatic. Perhaps Burnette just needs to continue getting healthy but the kicking operation left a lot to be desired, and you can also include kickoff inconsistencies from Erik Schmidt as well. 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish News

Notre Dame Fighting Irish finally settled a heated national debate during massive victory over the hated rival USC Trojans

A heated national debate was settled during the Notre Dame victory over USC.

Ryan Roberts