If anyone has seen the offensive production belonging to the USC Trojans, please alert head coach Lane Kiffin immediately. In the first half, we’ve seen more punts from the Trojans (4) than points (3). After holding Notre Dame scoreless for the first quarter, the Trojan defense finally broke, giving up 13 points in just about five minutes. That flurry of offense late in the second quarter gave the Fighting Irish a comfortable lead heading into the half, 13-3.
With starter Matt Barkley out, it’s the Mitch Mustain show in Los Angeles, and it hasn’t been pretty. Mustain, seeing his first significant action since transferring from Arkansas after his freshman year, has thrown for 44 yards on 8-15 passing. Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees ended the half on fire, leading two consecutive touchdown drive. The freshman quarterback finished the half with 122 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
With Mustain ineffective, Marc Tyler is seeing plenty of action in the backfield, carrying nine times for 32 yards. On the other side of the ball, Cierre Wood also carried the ball 10 times, rushing for 56 yards. Floyd led all receivers with 65 yards on six catches. Rhett Ellison led the Trojan receivers with two catches for 22 yards.