After a one-year hiatus, Notre Dame and USC resume their rivalry tonight. Last season’s pause marked the first season since 1945 that the Irish and Trojans did not meet, snapping a 74-year streak of annual meetings. Before World War II, the rivalry extends back another 16 years. Live coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. See below for additional information on how to watch the game.
Peacock will stream Notre Dame home games for Premium subscribers. Once signed up, you can find live coverage to all of the streaming service’s premium sports in the “Browse” section of the Peacock app and on PeacockTV.com.
USC (3-3) is coming off an idle week after losing to Utah, 42-26, now three games behind the Utes in the Pac 12 South Division standings. USC fired head coach Clay Helton just two weeks into the season, naming passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Donte Williams the interim head coach.
The Trojans’ offense has put up an average of 32.2 points per game, leaning on assets like junior receiver Drake London and senior running back Keaontay Ingram. London ranks second in the country in receptions with 64 and receiving yards per game with 138.7 while Ingram ranks seventh in the Pac-12 with 419 rushing yards. Defensively, junior linebacker Drake Jackson leads the team with three sacks and two turnovers forced but collectively the Trojans have struggled, giving up more than 40 points to half their opponents thus far this season.
Notre Dame (5-1) is also coming off of an idle week. This Saturday’s matchup kicks off a three-game homestand for the Irish. They lost their last game at Notre Dame Stadium, falling 24-13 to the Cincinnati Bearcats and snapping a 26-game home win streak, but redeemed themselves the following week with a 32-29 victory over Virginia Tech. Head coach Brian Kelly named quarterback Jack Coan as the starter for this week despite the fact that Coan has not taken every snap in a game since Notre Dame’s opener against Florida State, when he threw for 366 yards and four touchdowns.
Saturday’s game will be the 92nd meeting between the two teams in a rivalry that dates back to 1926. Notre Dame leads the series against USC 49-37-5.
Brian Kelly has beaten USC seven times, and that may be the most impressive part of his #NotreDame tenure when you consider what this rivalry looked like 12 years ago -- https://t.co/W0VcllATlY
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) October 23, 2021
How to watch USC vs. Notre Dame on TV:
- Where: Notre Dame Stadium
- When: Saturday, October 23
- Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: NBC
- Stream live: Watch live on Peacock or with the NBC Sports App
