Analyzing if Notre Dame is on upset alert against USC

South Bend, Indiana, will see a rivalry renewed again on Saturday with a Top 20 matchup of No. 20 USC vs. No. 13 Notre Dame. And, with playoff implications at play, someone’s season will likely be on the line.

On ‘Get Up’ on Thursday morning, Josh Pate determined whether the Fighting Irish are on alert for an upset by the Trojans. He said yes, which he loves, considering the importance of this game already in mid-October.

“Yes,” Pate said. “And, let’s just appreciate that it’s pre-Halloween and we’re already talking about elimination time for Notre Dame. It’s crazy how front-loaded their schedule was.”

In his breakdown of this one, Pate thinks it comes down to what Notre Dame is actually able to do against Southern Cal. If the Fighting Irish continue to prove it on defense and run it on offense, averaging 172.7 rushing yards per game and 4.7 per carry behind Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, they could feel good about getting a fifth-straight win. If not, though, the Trojans could go on the road and get what’d be a statement-type win not just for this season but in their tenure under Lincoln Riley.

“There’s a big question right now about whether Notre Dame has really resurrected their defense, because it was god awful the first few weeks of the season,” Pate said. “It looks better statistically the last few weeks, but maybe they just played dead offenses.

“USC last week? Looks like they may have made a statement against Michigan. I just think it was a big win, solid win against Michigan. I think the statement would come, and let’s focus here. The statement would come if you went on the road and faced someone who physically thinks they can just lean on you. Notre Dame believes they can do that. We can talk about the passing numbers and all that. This is a philosophical thing. Notre Dame thinks this right here is what works against USC. They have good reason to think that. It has worked against them. The statement would be USC turning that narrative on its ear.”

Considering the circumstances, a loss either way likely ends any hopes for both as far as the College Football Playoff. However, that’s more so the case for what would, at that point, be a three-loss record for Notre Dame, with Pate having them at risk of that on upset alert against ‘SC.

“(A USC win), as you just saw with the playoff predictor, would eliminate Notre Dame,” Pate said. “And, all of a sudden, USC is right on the playoff radar, which we haven’t said for a while.”