Special Teams Force a Fumble, Chris Finke Capitalizes

Brian Kelly kept his team on the field before half time for a verbal, in-the-rain undressing. In doing so, Kelly pissed off the USC fans, gave the ABD on ESPN crew fodder (you could easily read Kelly’s lips, the “unacceptable” quotes are not verbatim), and he apparently motivated his team.

After a fart of an opening possession, Julian Love forced an Adoree Jackson fumble on a punt return. What followed was an ill-conceived wide receiver pass (Chris Finke can catch passes, but not really through them that well in the rain), a Chris Finke first down, a fourth-down conversion, and then a Chris Finke touchdown.

It afforded the Irish a much needed reprieve from the absolutely crap-show that was the end of the first half. After a would-be safety that was saved by a mistake by USC, Adoree Jackson returned a punt for a touchdown. Then, Kizer threw a pick six.

Whether the Irish can stay out of their own way and maintain this momentum remains to be seen.