2016 Notre Dame Football Opponent Summary: USC

Southern California (Nov. 26)

Series Record: Notre Dame leads 46-36-5.

Last Meeting: Last Oct. 17 in Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish rallied for a 41-31 victory after having suffered their largest margin of defeat in the Brian Kelly era a year earlier at USC (49-14).

2015 Record: 8-6.

USC’s Rivals Class Rankings 2012-16: No. 8 (2012), No. 13 (2013), No. 10 (2014), No. 1 (2015) and No. 8 (2016).

Notre Dame’s Rivals Class Rankings 2012-16: No. 20 (2012), No. 3 (2013), No. 11 (2014), No. 11 (2015) and No. 12 (2016).

2015 Summary

For the second time in three years, USC arrived at Notre Dame Stadium in mid-season with an interim head coach, Clay Helton. He replaced the deposed Steve Sarkisian the week of the Notre Dame game because of Sarkisian’s erratic behavior under the influence of alcohol that originally was going to result in a leave of absence. Sarkisian’s last game was a stunning 17-12 loss at home to the University of Washington, his previous employer.

After losing to Notre Dame to fall to 3-3, USC temporarily righted itself with four straight wins to help it win the South Division of the Pac-12. However, it then lost three of its last four, a 48-28 thumping at Oregon, Stanford rolling over the Trojans the second time that season with a 41-22 win in the Pac-12 title game, and then Wisconsin pulling out a 23-21 victory in the Holiday Bowl.

Projected Starters Returning (per ESPN.com’s Phil Steele): 15, nine on offense and six on defense.

The offense is expected to be among the nation’s finest, headlined by the return of the entire receiving corps, most notably JuJu Smith-Schuster (89 catches, 16.3 yards per catch, 10 touchdowns), the running back tandem of Ronald Jones II (987 yards, 6.5 yards per carry) and Justin Davis (902 yards, 5.3 yards per carry) and a powerful, veteran line anchored by Zach Banner. Replacing quarterback Cody Kessler is the main focus, but Max Browne was an elite recruit who is in his fourth year in the program.

The strength on defense is the secondary, headlined by corners Adoree Jackson (the team’s 2015 MVP excused from spring practice while training to make the Summer Olympics in the long jump) and Iman Marshall. The line will be completely new, although it boasts promising talent with sophomores Rasheen Green and Noah Jefferson from the No. 1-rated recruiting class in 2015.

Offseason News

• Helton immediately fired four coaches after the Pac-12 championship game loss to Stanford, three of them on defense. He hired former co-worker Clancy Pendergast to coordinate the defense. On offense he brought in two more coaches, both from Western Kentucky: his brother, Tyson Helton, to instruct the quarterbacks, and Neil Callaway, the fifth Trojans offensive line coach in as many seasons. A new special teams coach and new running backs coach also were hired, while Tee Martin, the quarterback for Tennessee’s 1998 national champs, was promoted to offensive coordinator.

• Standout linebacker Su’a Cravens was the lone USC early departure to the NFL.

• Health issues have led USC director of athletics Pat Haden to step down from his post on June. 30. Events from the past several years in the football office have not benefitted his health.

2016 Outlook

In September, USC opens with defending national champion Alabama in Arlington, Texas, and then also has road trips to defending Pac-12 champion Stanford and then to Utah. November is likewise a gauntlet with three teams it lost to last year: Oregon, at Washington and Notre Dame, with cross-town rival UCLA in between.

As well as USC has recruited, to come away with less than three defeats this season would be a remarkable achievement, especially with a head coach who is going to have to earn his stripes with possibly a skeptical fandom.

Will Notre Dame Be Favored, The Underdog Or Is It A Toss-Up?

Any longtime Notre Dame follower knows it takes something special for the Fighting Irish to be favored in the Los Angeles Coliseum, which over the decades has become better known as “The House of Horrors.” Talent is seldom ever an issue at USC, but coaching can be. The Trojans are on their fourth head coach since Kelly’s arrival at Notre Dame in 2010, and the promotion of Helton did not elicit a “wow factor” in Los Angeles. Then again, neither did Pete Carroll’s hiring in 2001.

When one looks at USC’s schedule from start to finish, you have to wonder how much will be left in the tank by the Notre Dame finale. Regardless, it is the one game on the Fighting Irish slate where Kelly’s team is the likely underdog, even though the Irish head coach has produced a laudable 4-2 record against an operation that has gone through tumultuous internal and coaching matters during his tenure.

USC’s talent can match up with most anyone in the country, but it’s going to be more about leadership and resolve while attempting to stabilize its program.