Notre Dame Football opens up as an underdog against its rival, the USC Trojans

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish moved up to #13 in the AP Top 25 this week after a dominating 44-0 win over the Boston College Eagles — a wannabe rival. This week, the Irish will travel out to California to go against its actual rival with the USC Trojans.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Notre Dame is a 5.5 point underdog to Southern Cal with an OVER/UNDER of 63.

The Trojans are ranked #5 in the AP Top 25 and if they can beat the Irish and then win the PAC-12 conference championship game — they will likely be headed to the college football playoff. It’s a thought that’s too gross to think about — so let’s erase that thought.

Here’s the thing though... despite this game being VERY winnable for Notre Dame, they have struggled in L.A. against bad USC teams, and this ain’t a bad USC team. The Irish are going to need something extra for this one to hold on to the Jeweled Shillelagh another year — a trophy that’s been in Notre Dame’s hands since 2017.

Twitter @T_Rees11