SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame saw Caleb Williams at his best last season, scoring four total touchdowns to hand the Irish their fourth loss of Marcus Freeman’s debut campaign. No. 21 Notre Dame (6-2) has now also seen Williams at his worst, pressuring the defending Heisman Trophy winner into three first-half interceptions to spark a 48-20 Irish victory on Saturday night.
“I don’t know if there is a perfect answer to stopping Caleb Williams,” Freeman said after the rout. “He is one of the best college football players that I’ve ever seen. All I kept telling the guys is, we have a plan, and on this play you have to attack.”
That attacking plan kept Williams hassled all night. To pull a classic football line, Notre Dame blitzed all night. Williams was sacked six times for a loss of 44 yards, officially hurried three more times and unofficially uneasy the entire game.
Defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste’s pressure forced Williams’s first interception, overthrowing his receiver straight to Irish senior safety Xavier Watts. After two failed drives bookended a Trojans field goal, a cornerback blitz and inside pressure from sophomore defensive end Joshua Burnham made Williams throw another pass without setting his feet. Junior defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio tipped the pass and Watts, again, was the beneficiary.
On both turnovers, Watts did all he could to get into the end zone, getting to the 12- and then the 2-yard lines. His 61 yards on interception returns were more than Irish quarterback Sam Hartman threw for in the first half, going 6-of-10 for 60 yards.
“One of the best defensive performances I’ve ever seen against one of the best offenses in the country,” Hartman said after throwing for just 126 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-20 passing. Unlike Williams, he was never sacked and hardly hurried, the Notre Dame offensive line dictating terms much of the night, including leading the way for 129 rushing yards on 27 carries, a 4.8 yards per attempt average.
But thanks to Watts, the Irish hardly needed Hartman to be productive. Their first touchdown drives covered a combined 14 yards, Watts had done the rest of the work already.
Then, for good measure, Jean-Baptiste pursued Williams again on the next possession, fifth-year linebacker Marist Liufau sealing off the exit route for Williams, the kind of defensive gap-filling the Irish lacked last season in Los Angeles.
“You cannot play passive, you cannot play a three-man rush and let him go out there and be the Heisman Trophy winner he is,” Freeman said. “You have to attack. And no matter what happened — there were plenty of plays that he continued to extend plays with his legs. ...
“Then in the secondary, we are able to capitalize off of — I’m sure he would call them mistakes. He doesn’t want to throw the ball to our defenders. We were able to capitalize of them, instead of just having pass breakups.”
That next capitalization came when Liufau’s discipline forced Williams to throw off his back foot. If sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison had not caught the errant throw, senior cornerback Clarence Lewis could have.
“I couldn’t speak more highly of the performance of our defense and the way [defensive coordinator Al] Golden prepares,” Freeman said. “... Obviously, had a great plan for what our guys performed today.”
Marcus Freeman embraces the moment in the tunnel with Notre Dame fans pic.twitter.com/ARwlJzPaiq
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 15, 2023
Morrison did not mount a return, forcing Notre Dame’s offense to cover half the field — so still, very much a short field — to get Audric Estimé his second short touchdown run. That 24-6 halftime lead may have been enough of an edge against most teams, but against Williams, the Irish would eventually need more.
A 46-yard touchdown pass from Hartman to senior receiver Chris Tyree provided such a cushion, one then furthered by a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore running back Jadarian Price.
That 38-20 lead with less than nine minutes left felt plenty safe, even with the most dynamic quarterback in the country on the other team. It felt safe because Williams’s night was that miserable, throwing for just 199 yards and one touchdown on 23-of-37 passing with those three interceptions. Perhaps just as notable as those interceptions, the six sacks outweighed Williams’s seven rushes for 36 yards. To put that into some pertinent context, he took seven carries for 70 yards and three touchdowns against Notre Dame last season.
“I made mistakes that I usually don’t make,” Williams said. “Been in college for three years now — I don’t think I’ve ever had a season or a game or anything like that.”
Yet USC’s miseries were not even over, two more turnovers coming, both naturally with Watts’ involvement. Fifth-year cornerback Cam Hart forced a fumble with less than four minutes remaining, which Watts picked up to finally reach the end zone, a 15-yard return that gave the Irish a 48-20 lead. Watts forced one more fumble, running up the turnover margin, ironic given Notre Dame was negative-three in turnover margin in 2022 while USC was plus-21.
The Saturday night rout was a role reversal in all regards from a year ago.
“The expectation is that you win every game you play,” Freeman said. “I know the hours are the same, but the weeks that you win seem to go by really fast, and the next opportunity is here.”
The next opportunity will be two weeks away for the Irish, enjoying their first idle week after eight straight games, more than any other team in the country.
Sam Hartman does it ALL.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 15, 2023
Asked about building a win streak during his on-field, video board interview: "Everybody, be safe, don't drink and drive. Let's goooo!!"
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
11:30 — Notre Dame touchdown. Gi’Bran Payne 4-yard pass from Sam Hartman. Spencer Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 7, USC 0. (3 plays, 1:23, 12 yards)
1:13 — USC field goal. Denis Lynch 25 yards. Notre Dame 7, USC 3. (10 plays, 59 yards, 5:25)
Second Quarter
12:19 — Notre Dame field goal. Shrader 36 yards. Notre Dame 10, USC 3. (8 plays, 46 yards, 3:48)
3:14 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 2-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 17, USC 3. (1 play, 2 yards, 0:03)
1:30 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 1-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 24, USC 3. (5 plays, 50 yards, 2:05)
0:00 — USC field goal. Lynch 48 yards. Notre Dame 24, USC 6. (8 plays, 44 yards, 1:30)
Third Quarter
7:20 — USC touchdown. MarShawn Lloyd 31-yard rush. Lynch point after. Notre Dame 24, USC 13. (6 plays, 57 yards, 3:33)
3:54 — Notre Dame touchdown. Chris Tyree 46-yard pass from Hartman. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 31, USC 13. (6 plays, 68 yards, 3:20)
Fourth Quarter
9:04 — USC touchdown. Brenden Rice 7-yard pass from Caleb Williams. Lynch point after. Notre Dame 31, USC 20. (5 plays, 18 yards, 2:09)
8:50 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jadarian Price 99-yard kickoff return. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 38, USC 20.
3:40 — Notre Dame field goal. Shrader 23 yards. Notre Dame 41, USC 20. (4 plays, 9 yards, 1:09)
3:27 — Notre Dame touchdown. Xavier Watts 15-yard fumble return. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 48, USC 20.
Sam Hartman does it ALL.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 15, 2023
Asked about building a win streak during his on-field, video board interview: "Everybody, be safe, don't drink and drive. Let's goooo!!"