Irish and Some Numbers

18 years --- 11 months --- 29 days  SINCE NOTRE DAME WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE

Coaching Records Through 37 Games

Kelly 27-10
Holtz 27-10
Devine 28-9
Ara 30-5-2
Leahy 30-3-4
Rockne 33-2-2

Brian Kelly is starting to run with the big boys.

This will be the 16th time Notre Dame has played Southern Cal in November or December. ND is 9-5-1 in these games, including 4-4-1 at the Coliseum. Seven of those seasons ended in ND winning consensus national championships (denoted by *; 1953 and 1964 are at least arguable as well).

11/16/1929: 6-0, at Soldier Field, W 13-12*

12/6/1930: 9-0, at USC, W 27-0*

11/21/1931: 6-0-1, at ND, L 14-16

12/3/1938, 8-0, AP #1, at USC, L 0-13

11/22/1941, 7-0-1, AP #4, at ND, W 20-18

11/30/1946, 7-0-1, AP #2, at ND, W 26-6*

12/6/1947, 8-0, AP #1, at USC, W 38-7*

12/4/1948, 9-0, AP #2, at USC, T 14-14

11/26/1949, 8-0, AP #1, at ND, W 32-0*

11/28/1953, 7-0-1, AP #2, at USC, W 48-14

11/28/1964, 9-0, AP #1, at USC, L 17-20

11/26/1966, 8-0-1, AP #1, at USC, W 51-0*

11/28/1970, 9-0, AP #4, at USC, L 28-38

12/6/1980, 9-0-1, AP #2, at USC, L 3-20

11/26/1988, 10-0, AP #1, at USC, W 27-10*

Also: in 7 of the above 15 seasons, ND played at least one game after playing USC. It lost only two of those games - to Army in Yankee Stadium in 1931 and the Sugar Bowl to Georgia on 1/1/1981. The 1980 ND team was the only one to finish outside of the AP top 5 (9th), and the 1938 team was the only other one to finish outside of the AP top 3 (5th; no polls before 1936).

By virtue of the number of games we've played to date, this will be the winningest ND team ever to play USC, and the winningest team ever to play USC in the regular season, period. (USC played teams with 11+ wins in bowl games after the 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 seasons.)

EDIT: The last time a No. 1 ND played USC, and the only time it's ever done so in South Bend, was October 21, 1989 (ND won 28-24). So ND is 5-2 overall as a No. 1 team versus USC. (The 1973 NC team entered the USC game AP #8 and the 1977 NC team entered AP #11.)

(Written by ShermanOaksND)