Jeremiyah Love rushed 24 times for a career-high 228 yards and a touchdown, and No. 13 Notre Dame pulled away for a 34-24 win over No. 20 USC on a rain-soaked Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.
Jadarian Price returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and rushed for 87 yards and a score for Notre Dame (5-2). CJ Carr completed 16 of 26 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Jayden Maiava completed 22 of 42 passes for 328 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for USC (5-2). Ja’Kobi Lane caught six passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Price put Notre Dame on top for good with his 100-yard kickoff return. He fielded the ball in the end zone, bounced off a couple defenders and found a crease for the end-to-end score that gave the Fighting Irish a 27-24 lead with 4:17 to go in the third quarter.
Carr punched in a 1-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper to boost Notre Dame’s lead to 34-24 with 7:16 remaining in the fourth quarter.
USC opened the scoring on its first possession. Maiava connected with Lake McRee for a 10-yard touchdown to cap a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Notre Dame quickly evened the score at 7-all. Love ran for 63 yards on his first carry of the game, and he followed up two plays later with a 12-yard rushing touchdown.
Ryon Sayeri kicked a 42-yard field goal to give USC a 10-7 lead with 8:04 to go in the first quarter.
The Fighting Irish took their first lead with 14:36 left in the second quarter. Price scored on a 16-yard run.
Sayeri kicked a 24-yard field goal to pull USC within 14-13 with 1:42 remaining in the first half.
Notre Dame increased its lead to 21-13 with 8:04 to go in the third quarter. Carr found Will Pauling for a 6-yard touchdown.
USC answered with Sayeri’s third field goal, this time from 43 yards, with 6:19 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans regained a 24-21 lead less than two minutes later. Maiva lofted a pass down the right sideline for Lane, who caught it around the 25-yard line and sprinted the rest of the way for a 59-yard score.
