A partisan crowd attending the 181st consecutive sellout at Notre Dame stadium saw their Fighting Irish hang tough with #1 ranked USC for 3 quarters before the Trojans pulled away and coasted to a 38-24 win in our EA Sports simulation.

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The Irish, who led the game 24-17 at the start of the fourth quarter, were led by junior QB Brady Quinn, who torched the Trojans' depleted secondary for 407 yards and three TD's in the loss. Matt Leinart, the reigning Heisman Trophy candidate, was able to shake off two first half interceptions to lead the Trojans to 21 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to win the 77th meeting between the schools.

USC, who were number one in the nation in total offense and rushing coming into the game, looked lost in the early going. All world RB Reggie Bush, still fighting the effects of an injury last week against Arizona, was unable to find much running room on the first two USC drives. Both drives, one ending in an interception and another in a punt by little used punter Tom Malone, would turn into points for the Irish.

Brady Quinn's assault on the USC pass defense began on the Irish first possession as a combination of short passes and slashing runs by sophomore Darius Walker helped set up the first score of the game, a 20 yard TD pass from Quinn to Jeff Samardzija that put the Irish up 7-0. Notre Dame would extend the lead to 10-0 on their next possession after kicker DJ Fitzpatrick connected from 37 yards with 5 minutes to go in the first quarter.

The Irish crowd, frenzied by their team's early lead, were unable to incite their defense to stop the Trojans on their next possession. Reggie Bush, who had been ineffective on the first two drives, got on track on their third possession, breaking a 68 yard run off right tackle to get the ball inside the Notre Dame 10. From there, Leinart hit LenDale White in the flat and he pranced his way into the Notre Dame end zone to bring the score to 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was dominated by both offenses, as both Notre Dame and USC seemed to be able to move the ball at will against the other's defenses. Quinn and Leinart exchanged TD passes on each team's first possessions of the 2nd quarter, with Quinn again hooking up with Samardzija to put the Irish up 17-7 and Leinart answering the call with another TD pass of his own, hitting Dwayne Jarrett for a 17 yard TD to bring the game within 3 points at 17-14. Notre Dame, which went three and out on their possession, punted the ball to USC with 28 seconds left in the first half. The half would end with Leinart's second INT of the game, a jump ball in the end zone that was brought down by Irish DB Jake Carney to leave the game at 24-17 at halftime.

At the start of the second half, Quinn once again led the Irish on a scoring drive, driving the length of the field and hitting TE John Carlson for a 8 yard TD pass to put the Irish up 24-14. On their drive, the Trojans were able to move the ball deep into Notre Dame territory until RB Reggie Bush fumbled the ball on 3rd down. Bush, who fell on the fumble to retain possession, re-aggravated his injury on the play and was lost to the Trojans for the rest of the day. USC kicker Mario Danelo was able to put 3 points on the board for the Trojans to bring the score to 24-17 at the end of the fourth quarter.

As play began in the fourth quarter, the USC defense began pressuring Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn more aggressively, a strategy that enabled the USC defense to hold the Irish and force a punt. After the change of possession, Leinart again showed why he is considered one of the best players in the country, tying the game when he hit LenDale White for White's second TD pass of the game to bring the score to 24-24 in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, famed for being able to change schemes to fit other team's defense, had no answer to USC's pressure, as the Trojans were able to disguise their schemes to bring pressure on QB Brady Quinn. After another short drive by the Irish, Leinart would lead USC to their first lead of the day on the drive. Leinart used a combination of passes and runs to drive deep into Notre Dame territory, capping off the drive with a 3 yard TD run/burrow that put the Trojans up 31-24 with 4 minutes to go in the game.

Notre Dame again tried to make corrections to offset the USC defense and this drive; the changes helped the Irish drive deep into USC territory. Any hopes that the Irish faithful had were dashed when Quinn was intercepted on an out pass by CB Justin Wyatt, who swerved, slashed and finally, high stepped his way into the Notre Dame end zone to put the Trojans up 38-24 late in the fourth quarter.

The Irish did attempt to mount one last scoring drive, with Quinn leading an efficient two minute offense deep into USC territory, but the drive would come up short when Quinn was sacked on fourth down with less than 30 seconds remaining. One knee by Leinart later, the Trojans maintained their winning streak, leaving South Bend with a 38-24 victory over the Irish.

The next game for USC is a Pac-10 conference game in Seattle as they travel north to take on Ty Willingham and the Washington Huskies on Saturday, Oct. 22nd. The Irish will attempt to bounce back from their loss when they host the BYU Cougars on Saturday, October 22nd before Tennessee travels to South Bend the following week.