There have been so many great moments in the rivalry between USC football and Notre Dame football over the years, and Saturday’s ranked Trojans-Irish matchup is sure to be an unforgettable addition to that history.
Before the 96th meeting in the 99th year of college football’s greatest nonconference rivalry, ESPN released a list from historian and analyst Bill Connelly on the best USC-Notre Dame matchups over the years. Trojans Wire ranked all of the USC wins from that list, and noted a couple honorable mentions Connelly left off that the Trojans could stand to remember this weekend.
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No. 4: 1931 — USC 16, Notre Dame 14
“Notre Dame welcomed USC to South Bend for the first time in 1931 — and for the first time without Rockne, who had died in a plane crash the previous March,” Connelly wrote. “The Irish hadn’t lost a game since a defeat to the Trojans to end the 1928 season, and they took a 14-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Gus Shaver scored to make it 14-6 early in the fourth, but the Irish blocked the PAT, and since 2-point conversions weren’t a thing yet, it was still a two-score game. No worries! They scored again to make it 14-13, and in the dying seconds, Orville Mohler completed a couple of huge passes to bring USC into field goal range, and Johnny Baker hit the game winner.”
“The Trojans arrived a few days later to a mobbed train station with over 100,000 revelers. They were paraded through town. And after blowouts of Washington and Georgia and a Rose Bowl victory over Tulane, they were unbeaten national champions.”
The 2025 Trojans could benefit from remembering 1931, and specifically that from the very beginning, USC has made a tradition of disappointing the Fighting Irish faithful home crowd.
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No. 3: 1974 — No. 6 USC 55, No. 5 Notre Dame 24 — “The Comeback”
“Notre Dame and quarterback Tom Clements stunned the crowd of 83,552 early, gaining 257 first-half yards and bolting to a 24-0 lead,” Connelly wrote. “But Davis scored on a short touchdown pass from Pat Haden to make it 24-6 before the break, then took the opening kick of the second half 100 yards for another score. USC forced a punt, and Davis scored again. Then Notre Dame fumbled, and Davis scored again and added the 2-point conversion.”
“Suddenly it was 27-24, and USC kept landing blows. Haden threw touchdown passes to J.K. McKay (twice) and Shelton Diggs, then Charles Phillips picked off his third pass of the day and took it to the house. In just under 17 minutes USC had gone on a 55-0 run. 55-0! The Trojans rode the momentum to a Rose Bowl upset of Ohio State, too.”
A 55-0 run in 17 minutes would surely make up for any Trojan defensive shortcomings on Saturday.
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No. 2: 1964 — USC 20, No. 1 Notre Dame 17
“USC rolled to an 11-0 national title in 1962 but was still attempting to establish consistency in 1964; the Irish, meanwhile, surged from 2-7 to No. 1 in the country in Parseghian’s very first season,” Connelly wrote. “He had them 9-0 and one win from a national title when they headed to L.A. In front of 83,840 at the Coliseum, the Irish, two-touchdown favorites, raced to a 17-0 halftime lead. But according to Sports Illustrated, McKay was calm, telling his team, ‘Our game plan is working. Keep doing your stuff and we’ll get some points […] They’ve won nine games without any duress. If we can make this thing close, they might not know how to react.’ Behind future Heisman winner Mike Garrett and quarterback Craig Fertig, the Trojans proved McKay correct.”
“They scored twice to make it close, and as the final minute approached, they ran 84-Z, a shot over the middle from Fertig to Rod Sherman for the game winner.”
The only thing better than beating a hated rival to win a championship is spoiling said hated rival’s shot at a championship. USC has a chance to play spoiler again on Saturday — spoiling any shot ND has at making the College Football playoff by handing the Irish their third loss.
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No. 1: 2005 — No. 1 USC 35, No. 9 Notre Dame 31
“Despite a brilliant 195 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns from soon-to-be Heisman winner Reggie Bush, USC simply couldn’t shake the Irish,” Connelly wrote. “A 32-yard Brady Quinn-to-Jeff Samardzija touchdown pass and a 60-yard Tom Zbikowski punt return gave Notre Dame a 21-14 halftime lead, and Quinn’s 5-yard touchdown gave the Irish a 31-28 lead with just 2:04 left. But you probably already know what happened next.”
“Bush shoved Matt Leinart into the end zone on a make-or-break play with four seconds left — that would be legal with today’s rules, but it wasn’t in 2005 — and somehow USC survived.”
The most iconic game from arguably the most entertaining season in USC history. How could No. 1 be anything else?
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Honorable Mention No. 1: 2007 — No. 14 USC 38, Notre Dame 0
The 38-0 shutout marks USC’s largest margin of victory against Notre Dame, which the Trojans managed to accomplish on the road and without starting quarterback John David Booty.
It doesn’t get much better than shutting out your fiercest rival at their home stadium. This is the kind of all-around performance that USC dreams of having this Saturday.
Honorable Mention No. 2: 2014 — USC 49, Notre Dame 14
USC’s 49 points were their highest total against the Irish since “The Comeback” in 1974. The offensive outburst was fueled by USC quarterback Cody Kessler, who threw six touchdown passes. That marked the first time any player had thrown for 6 TDs against the Irish.
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It’s no coincidence that I mentioned two of USC’s biggest blowouts of the Irish. Can you tell what result I am hoping to see on Saturday?
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football has many great wins over Notre Dame, but some are bigger
