Notre Dame led Navy 35-14 and had to hang on for an uncomfortable 35-32 win, with Navy scoring the game’s final 18 points and the Irish going into a shell, taking their feet off the gas pedal.
USC led Cal 34-14 and had to hang on for an uncomfortable 41-35 win, very clearly relaxing after building a 20-point lead. We saw something similar after grabbing a 31-16 lead at Arizona and, for that matter, after getting a 41-14 lead at Stanford back in Week 2.
Another USC-Notre Dame parallel: not running the ball as much or as effectively as fans hope.
Notre Dame couldn’t run the ball against Navy in the second half.
Surprisingly, Notre Dame had trouble running the football. The Irish finished the game with 66 yards on 34 carries. That’s not a good look.
USC has relied on Caleb Williams’ arm, to the extent of not going into full smashmouth mode when having a lead. This approach has lengthened games and kept the defense on the field longer, which has played a role in inviting comebacks from opponents (in addition to USC relaxing with big leads).
USC and Notre Dame have some real similarities here.
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