USC vs. Notre Dame College Football Week 7 Preview, TV Schedule, Prediction

TV Schedule: Saturday October 17, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC

Stadium: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Ind.

Line: ND (-6.5)

It’s sure been a whirlwind week for the USC Trojans (3-2) with their horrible loss to Washington, followed by their much documented firing of Steve Sarkisian. Now they must travel to South Bend to take on No. 14 Notre Dame (5-1) in an emotional rivalry game. It sure will be a tough challenge for them.

The loss to Washington all but put a fork in the Trojans’ Pac-12 and national title hunt, which could in turn really damper their efforts going forward as they may may as if they don’t have much to play for anymore. Meanwhile, the Irish bounced back from a loss to defeat a pretty solid Navy team on Saturday to keep themselves alive with just one loss.

For USC, Cody Kessler has continued to be a bright spot at quarterback and a potential pro prospect with his 15 touchdowns to three interceptions. JuJu Smith-Schuster has been a tremendous weapon at receiver with 619 yards and six scores. Those two give USC fans plenty to cheer for. It will certainly be interesting to see which approach the Trojans take in this one. Will they come out with an us against the world mentality? Or will they come out dejected that their goals are ruined and their coach is gone in turmoil? It’s something that is very hard to predict.

As for Notre Dame, they still have a lot to play for. Playoff hopes still aren’t out of the question and they are at home in front of their crowd. DeShone Kizer has done a solid job since taking over at QB, and I expect him to keep getting better. C.J. Prosise has been an animal at running back, while Will Fuller is a pro-caliber receiver. Notre Dame cannot take USC lightly in this game or else they will be sitting with two losses come Saturday night.

In the end, USC will come out with pride and play inspired in what is a big rivalry game for both sides. They’ll be in it for the entire game and Kessler will have another very good outing. Kizer will find Fuller for several big plays as he will catch balls for over 100 yards on the evening. The home crowd could be the deciding factor.

Prediction: Notre Dame 31, USC 23

Andrew Frosceno is a New York Giants beat writer and college football writer for www.Rantsports.com. You can follow him on Twitter and Google.