In a game dominated by offensive playmakers and seismic momentum shifts, Notre Dame dominated the fourth quarter and outlasted the explosive USC Trojans by 41-31 on Saturday evening. The Irish trailed by 31-24 late in the third quarter, but two 90-yard drives and a pair of interceptions by their much-maligned defense gave the hosts a hard earned victory. Notre Dame moved to 6-1 on the season and heads into a well-deserved bye week in its schedule, while USC dropped to 3-3.

The fireworks started early as the teams traded haymakers throughout a wild 24-24 first half. The Trojans needed only three minutes to score on their opening drive, while the Irish answered one play later with a 75-yard bomb from DeShone Kizer to Will Fuller. C.J. Prosise got into the act minutes later with a 25-yard touchdown burst to give Notre Dame its first lead of the night at 14-10. A quick three and out put USC in punt formation deep in their own territory, and Equanimeous St. Brown led an overwhelming rush of punter Kris Albarado to get a block. Amir Carlisle scooped up the ball at the goal line and the Irish led by 21-10 at the end of the first quarter.

Kizer directed his team down the field on its next possession and Notre Dame appeared poised to take a commanding 28-10 lead. Torii Hunter caught a pass inside the ten yard line and turned toward the goal, but Adoree Jackson poked the ball away and USC recovered in its end zone for a touchback. Although the Irish managed a field goal to lead by 24-10 following a nice punt return by C. J. Sanders, the Trojans woke up and unleashed an impressive display of firepower. A double pass produced a 75-yard bomb from Jalen Greene to JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Adoree Jackson took a flat pass and burst through arm tackles for an 83-yard score to tie the game at 24.

The shell-shocked Irish were fortunate to stagger into halftime in a tie, as USC failed to convert a field goal as time ran out in the second period. Brian Kelly used all three of his timeouts to unsettle Trojan kicker Alex Wood, and the strategy worked as his 36-yard attempt clanked off the left upright.

Notre Dame took the second half kickoff, but things did not improve immediately as USC dominated the line of scrimmage and used to 65-yard run by Ronald Jones to fuel a scoring drive for a 31-24 lead at the 9:40 mark. The Trojans stopped the Irish on the next series and started another drive that looked like the beginning of the end for Notre Dame, but they ran out of steam and punted to the Irish nine.

Kizer rose to the occasion by scrambling for a key first down, and then dropped back and threw two deep balls to Fuller that resulted in a pair of blatant defensive pass interference penalties. The Irish quarterback called his own number again to move the ball to the USC six yard line, and Prosise finished the drive by dragging multiple Trojans for the tying touchdown as the game entered the final period.

Cody Kessler, who threw for 365 yards on the night, got his team going with a 29 yard pass on the ensuing series, but Notre Dame responded moments later with its first sack of the evening to snuff the drive. Once again, the Irish took over 90 yards away from their goal. Prosise chipped in with 42 yards on two consecutive carries, and Kelly called his own double pass that saw Hunter hit Alize Jones at the USC 12. Irish fans did not want to settle for a field goal, and Kizer responded on third down by hitting Corey Robinson for a touchdown. Robinson’s diving grab gave Notre Dame a 38-31 advantage, but a long nine minutes remained.

Kessler wasted no time in going for the equalizer, but a leaping interception by KeiVarae Russell at his own 32 gave the ball right back to Notre Dame. Russell, who had struggled all season, outfought Smith-Schuster with a remarkably athletic grab. The Irish moved into field goal range as Kizer hit Fuller again on the sideline for 22 yards, and Justin Yoon converted a few plays later from 32 yards to stretch Notre Dame’s margin to 41-31. Fuller continued to get the best of Jackson in the passing game, and this ultimately was a key factor in the outcome.

With 5:39 remaining and down by two scores, Kessler tried to get the Trojans going again. Russell again stepped in to knock the ball away from Smith-Schuster, and safety Max Redfield intercepted the deflection for the Irish. USC got the ball back in the final two minutes, but Kessler was forced to throw underneath and time ran out on him when he was sacked on the game’s final play.

Notre Dame had to overcome adversity and 590 yards of Trojan offense to come away with the victory, but this team refused to quit even when it appeared that USC had taken complete control of the line of scrimmage. Kizer threw only 24 passes as compared to 46 by Kessler, and Notre Dame won the land war by 214-150 as Prosise ran for 143 and two scores. One Irish injury appeared to be costly as guard Alex Bars went down with a leg (but not a knee) injury, but the team now has two weeks to heal before battling Temple on October 31.

Let’s review the answers to the pregame questions for more insights.

Will the Irish start fast and gain an advantage in the first half? The 21-10 lead was a refreshing development after last year’s game, but Hunter’s fumble put a damper on things for a while.

Which team will hurt its cause with turnovers and penalties? Russell’s fourth quarter heroics and USC’s inability to cover Fuller without interfering turned the game around.

Can Notre Dame contain USC’s powerful running game? Poor tackling in general and especially on Jones’ 65-yard jaunt were ugly moments for Notre Dame, but the defense proved to be resilient at the end.

Which team’s elite skill players will make game-changing plays? All of them were spectacular. Whatever tickets were selling for prior to kickoff, people got their money’s worth. I’ll bet a few NFL scouts did as well.

Can Kizer keep his cool and deliver the ball to an open receiver? Kizer dropped in a few beautiful throws to Fuller and hit Chris Brown on some key throws to maintain possession. He played within himself and did not make costly mistakes.

Will Kessler have the luxury of time in the pocket? For most of the evening, Kessler had enough time to write a novel. Unfortunately for him and the Trojans, he could not quite complete the ending.

Will Helton end up in hot water or soaked in Gatorade? Helton pulled out all the stops in his play-calling, but Pat Haden is not going to remove the “Interim” label from his job title.

Despite moments of extreme fan frustration with missed tackles and inconsistent play by the offensive line, this Irish team continues to battle through adversity and remind us that their belief in each other is a very powerful force.