USC 17 Notre Dame 0 at Half

This is practically a pitcher's duel. USC put together just two decent drives, good for 10 points, while a muffed punt return yielded the Trojans another seven. Notre Dame's offense has been totally inept, and the atmosphere in the stadium is dead. The best Irish possession came on a blocked punt that led to a blocked field goal attempt. That was Notre Dame's best scoring chance of the half. What they don't show you on TV: at every timeout, the Irish march some honoree onto the field. They are reaching pretty deep. One of the last honorees was a sociology professor. Notre Dame receives the ball to start the second half, and we wouldn't be shocked to see the banged up freshman march out to start the drive. For USC, the line isn't blowing open any holes, but the protection of Sanchez has been solid, and Mark hasn't made any mistakes. If only the same could be said of his receivers.