BATTLE FOR THE JEWELED SHILLELAGH MXXXII

It's that time of year, Thanksgiving weekend... and that means two of the greatest rivalries in college football to date: Auburn vs Alabama, the Iron Bowl, played 75 times, having Auburn win in a thriller yesterday; and USC vs Notre Dame, possibly the greatest rivalry in sports. The Trojans of USC and Fighting Irish of Notre Dame have played 81 times, tonight makes 82. It started in 1926, where long time friends and coaches Knute Rockne and Howard Jones wanted to create an annual rivalry bewteen the schools they coached respectively(Rockne coached ND, Jones coached USC). It had been decided that the 2 schools would play it out, and not just for bragging rights, but for a trophy as well, know as the Jeweled Shillelagh. Notre Dame leads the all time series 42-33-5, withthe last 8 meetings going all to USC(we still count the 2005 game even though it was vacated because it was one of the greatest games of all time).

The prized Jeweled Shillelagh

You ask why this may be the greatest rivalry, well because this rivalry has produced a combined 22 National Championships, 14 Heisman Winners(we still count Reggie Bush even though he was stripped of his 2005 Heisman trophy), and 21 future NFL Hall of Famers. No other collegiate rivalry has produced such numbers, including All-Americans and College Football Hall of Famers.

Now the ironic thing is that both myself, Greg(The Foz) and my blogging partner Mike(Ocho Cinco) also have taken part in this rivalry... well not literally, but I am a Notre Dame fan, and he is a USC fan. And there is ONE thing we will always remember about this rivalry, the greatest game we ever saw, decided by a single push, the 2005 ND vs USC game, also known as "The Bush Push". Now we're going to do something different here, we're going to do our first collabroation article, where we both give our take on the game. Here's Ocho Cinco on "The Bush Push":

The "Bush Push"

In my mind, it was the greatest USC-Notre Dame game ever. USC was ranked #1 that year and at the time Notre Dame was ranked #9. They started the drive with 1:42 left down 31-28. At this, point I was a little worried if they could come back and win. Once Matt Leinart threw a pass to Dwayne Jarrett that went for sixty one yards at the Notre Dame 13. At this point, I knew they would tie it but not win it as dramatically as they did. Reggie Bush brought the ball to the two and then Leinart tried a keeper but Corey Mays knocked the ball out of bounds and everyone one thought the game was over. With seven seconds left Pete Carroll told Leinart to go for a fake spike and keep it himself. As he went for the goalline he was met by Notre Dame defenders but Reggie Bush pushed Leinart into the endzone to make the game 34-3. It is known as one of the greatest games ever but, It doesn't count because they had to forfeit that season because Reggie Bush violated NCAA rules.

Now let's talk about today:

ND ILB Manti Te'o

Notre Dame: ND has had a very shaky season, but have some very good talent. They are led by players like stand-out WR Michael Floyd and an ILB tandem of Manti Te'o and Carlo Calabrese. They also had excellent players such as TE Kyle Rudolph, RB Armando Allen, and WR Theo Riddick, but all faulted to season-ending injuries. The Fighting Irish have maintained a 6-5 record coming into today, even with losing key players. However, the biggest injury suffered has been QB Dayne Crist. Crist played well this season, and has came up clutch in his first year starting, but tore his ACL on October 30th. Freshman QB Tommy Rees took over in a terrible loss against Tulsa, but played well, throwing for 334 yards and 4 TD, but threw 3 INT. Rees has thrown, since taking over as starting QB, for 756 yards and 8 TD. Their most impressive win came over a 14th ranked Utah Utes team, who had come off a 47-7 blowout loss to 4th ranked TCU. Notre Dame, in style, clobbered Utah 28-3, as Rees threw for 3 TDs and the ND defense blocked a punt and returned it for a score. Sophmore ILB Manti Te'o has led the Irish with 109 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and has recorded 2 sacks.

USC WR Robert Woods

USC:Has had an up and down season so far this year.Started off 4-0 and are 3-4 since. Have talented players led by QB Matt Barkley RB'S Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford and WR'S Robert Woods and Ronald Johnson. Have to really outscore their opponents because they have been in a lot of shootouts. Ranked thirtieth in points scored, 32.6 points per game but seventy-eighth in points against, 28.5 per game. They have a good offense but horrendous defense. Have to overcome the obstacle of losing QB Matt Barkley to a ankle injury. Starting fifth year senior Mitch Mustain, an Arkansas transfer, for the first time while being a quarterback for USC. In relief of Barklet he went 8-17 for sixty yards. I wouldn't be surprised if USC ran a lot today due to the the fact Mustain doesn't have a lot of chemistry with the first string wide receivers. Tyler leads the team in rushing, 820 yards and in touchdowns with nine. Barkley leads the team in passing with 2593 yards twenty five passing touchdowns and ten interceptions. Freshman Robert Woods leads the team with 648 receiving yards but Ronald Johnson leads the team with eight TD's. USC is bowl eligible at 7-4 but won't make a bowl game due to it's probation because of Reggie Bush.

Alright, here's our outlook on tonight's game...

Keys to the game:

Notre Dame:

ND ILB Carlo Calabrese

1. Find Michael Floyd the football. Floyd is one of the best WRs in the country and is explosive. He is a great leaper, has great hands, and is quick as well. USC has the 78th ranked defense in Div 1 football, including  a very weak secondary. Notre Dame must be able to find a way to isolate Floyd with USC CB Shareece Wright. If able to do so, Floyd should win that match-up. Floyd has 68 receptions, 830 yards, and 9 TD, and is proving to be an unstoppable counterpart to these cornerbacks.

2. ND's defense, especillay its front 7, must be able to contain the run. ND must have a great game from its LBs Manti Te'o, Carlo Calabrese, Brian Smith, and Darius Fleming in order to contain USC's dual threat of Tyler and Bradford. The 2 RBs have comined for over 1300 yards, and if ND can contain them both, it will force back-up QB Mitch Mustain to throw more, and has definitely shown that he is NOT Matt Barkley.

USC:

USC CB Shareece Wright

1.Make Notre Dame's defense tired. Keep long drives by pounding the rock and wearing down Te'o, Calabrese and Lewis-Moore. Bradford and Tyler have to have good nights behind Mustain whose making his first start. Work hard for first downs so and make Mustain's night much easier, If they do they will keep the time of possession in their favor to keep Michael Floyd off the field. If they run early and often it will open up routes for Johnson and Woods. If they have more time of possession it will give them a better chance to win.

2.Defense has to step up Shareece Wright will have a long night so the rest of the defense has to help out. Chris Galippo, Shane Horton, and Malcolm Smith have to stop Notre Dame's running game to make them one dimensional. Safety T.J. McDonald has to help Wright cover Floyd. He has to play like the man he replaced, Taylor Mays, for their defense to stop Notre Dame's offense. I know they have been decimated by injuries, but they still have Floyd, one of the best wide receivers in College Football. It will be hard to do but if they contain Floyd their day will be so much easier.


Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd



The difference maker for each team:

Notre Dame: WR Michael Floyd

Like I previously stated, Floyd can do it all, he can run after the catch, go up and grab jump balls, and makes defenses look silly. Floyd should be able to add on to his 9 TDs and catch more than a few balls and gain some yards in space.

USC RB Marc Tyler

USC: Running Game: I don't care if Dillion Baxter or C.J. Gable is out there. Whoever is out there, they have to take the pressure off of Mustain. Tyler and Bradford are the main two I say for USC to win both need at least 75 yards and a TD. Like I said above, this is Mustain's first start he needs help. Also, captain Stanley Havili needs to help in the running and passing games.If this happens, I believe USC will win this game if this happens.




Predictions:
The Foz says: USC wins 34-27

Ocho Cinco says: USC wins 31-21