No Rest for Irish Defense

The offense was woefully inept, but it wasn’t the offense that made Notre Dame’s reputation.

It was the defense, and USC sliced it to pieces.

Notre Dame cornerback Shane Walton strode up the Coliseum tunnel carrying his bag, but not any answers.

“They outplayed us. They deserved to win the game. There’s not much more you can say.�

Nose guard Cedric Hilliard was willing to try, but quickly realized he had no explanation.

“I don’t know if I can help you,� he said.

USC scored 20 more points against Notre Dame in its 44-13 victory Saturday than any other team did this season -- and more than any Trojan team against the Irish since the famous 1974 55-24 come-from-behind victory.

But there were far more remarkable numbers than those.

No team ever ran up more yards on the Irish than the Trojans’ 610.

And no quarterback ever passed for more yards against the Irish than Carson Palmer’s 425. (Miami’s Steve Walsh passed for 424 in 1988.)

“He was able to pick us apart as a defense,� linebacker Courtney Watson said. “We weren’t able to slow him down -- him or the wide receivers.�

This was a defense that was third in the nation in scoring defense, giving up little more than 13 points a game, and fifth in total defense, giving up less than 271 yards.

Two opponents -- a top-25 Maryland team and a Rutgers team that hung with Miami for three quarters -- didn’t score at all against the Irish.

Florida State, with all its speed and skill, scored 24.

USC scored almost at will.

Vontez Duff, Notre Dame’s big-play cornerback, became just another guy for Mike Williams and Keary Colbert to beat.

“We just didn’t play good. We made some mistakes, and they capitalized,� Duff said.

Notre Dame hadn’t given up more than 418 yards in a game this season, and Palmer accounted for 419 alone, with 425 passing and minus-6 rushing.

This wasn’t quite the quarterback Notre Dame Coach Tyrone Willingham remembers from his days at Stanford.

“I would say he is vastly improved in his understanding of himself and his system,� Willingham said.

“He has great control of himself and the system. Even when we were able to get pressure on him, he responded with some nice throws and well-timed plays.... I think you’d have to say he played the best we’ve seen this year.�

Before stopping the pass, Notre Dame’s bread-and-butter is stopping the run -- seven of 11 teams they played before USC didn’t manage 100 yards.

But Justin Fargas ran for 120, and USC finished with 185.

The Irish offense, with its four first downs, didn’t help, but it’s hard to say if anything would have.

“What we hoped for was at some point we’d get our offense into a flow to take some of the pressure off our defense,� Willingham said. “We were unable to do that.

“We faced a good football team that took it to us, and we weren’t able to stay with the pace they set for us.�