Notre Dame is coming into this game with a 10-1 record this season and they have been playing very well in their recent games. They have won their last 9 straight games with 8 of those 9 wins coming by 20+ points. They have not had a very strong schedule this season though, playing some better teams from weaker conferences, but their offense has struggled more against better defenses this season as well. They are going up against a USC team that is 6-5 this season and finished 4-5 in the conference for their 1st season in the Big 10. They have been playing better recently as they have won their last 2 straight as well as 3 of their last 4 games. They have also been much better at home as they have won 4 of their 5 games there this season, their only loss coming in OT by 3 points against Penn State who is ranked in the top 5 of the country. They are coming off of a 19-13 win against UCLA in their last game and their defense has been playing better as well. USC actually has a very efficient run game this season that is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and that is going to help them move the ball against this good Notre Dame defense. They also have a good run defense that will be able to slow down Notre Dame on offense. Notre Dame does have a very good pass defense that has not been giving up many yards all season, but throwing the ball is a strength of this USC offense and they will be able to make plays down the field as Notre Dame has not really seen a passing offense like this in recent games. Notre Dame has also struggled a lot making this trip to Los Angeles as they have lost 3 of their last 4 meetings with USC in LA and their only win in that span was by just 7 points. Winning in LA has been a constant struggle for Notre Dame over the years as well, even going past those last 4 games, so this game is going to be no different as USC also has a chance to complicate the seeding for Notre Dame in the playoffs. USC will cover the spread in this game.