It has been a whirlwind schedule for No. 21 Notre Dame, which will draw its fourth consecutive nationally ranked team in No. 10 USC on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish have the task of containing the top-scoring offense in college football (51.8 points) led by Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
He leads the nation in touchdown percentage (13.3) and quarterback rating (206.4) along with several other top-10 metrics.
The Trojans have not traveled an equally arduous road as the Irish in their 6-0 start — in fact it has been a cake walk.
Yet USC has allowed the far inferior likes of Colorado and Arizona to fall within one possession in back-to-back shootout victories.
USC’s Herculean offense has overshadowed defensive imperfections that have led to the Trojans surrendering of 36.7 ppg over the last three weeks.
The Irish will be their first sound litmus test as both teams are tied for eighth at 9.6 turnovers forced. Notre Dame has limited elite company to 18 ppg and also scores at a top-10 rate (34.1 ppg).
Quarterback Sam Hartman isn’t far off in Williams’ rear-view mirror. The senior transfer has taken the reins in South Bend throwing for more than 285 yards and two scores per game thus far.
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His team returns home to play in wet and gusty Indiana conditions on Saturday evening, which could cause plenty of rushing from both sides.
While the Irish may have been lackluster in scoring recently (18.3 ppg versus Ohio State, Duke and Louisville), they have held three top-tier programs to the under during that span.
I expect the same to happen here as USC adjusts to the task on Saturday.
The play: USC-Notre Dame under 60.5.