USC vs Notre Dame 2016: Who Were The Studs and Duds?

Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jerry Tillery (99) and defensive lineman Khalid Kareem (53) leave the field after Texas defeated Notre Dame 50-47 in double overtime at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Who were the duds?

Jerry Tillery:

Better known as No. 99, Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery was a disgrace to his university and the sport of football on Saturday at the Coliseum. There were two incidents involving the defensive lineman, both of which were utterly unacceptable, but only one of which was actually punished.

When USC running back Aca’Cedric Ware was knocked out on a helmet-to-helmet hit, Tillery stood over the downed player and kicked his helmet. Just a few minutes later at the Trojan goal line, Tillery got into it with Zach Banner, purposefully stepping on the offensive lineman’s ankle as he walked over him. The latter incident drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the refs while Irish head coach laid into his player on the sideline afterwards.

ACC Refs:

Where to begin. Despite reviewing the play on which Ware was targeted and correctly ejecting Notre Dame’s Nicco Fertitta for the hit, the officials missed Tillery’s first, and most egregious, misconduct. The reffing crew also ruled a DeShone Kizer sack fumble an incomplete pass, negated a Notre Dame safety because they were not ready for the snap, and denied Jack Jones a scoop and score by blowing the whistle on a contested lateral pass play returned by the freshman cornerback.

USC’s Big Play Defense:

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The Trojans allowed a run play of 74 yards on Notre Dame’s opening drive and pass plays of 40, 26, 29 and 23 yards throughout the game. In many ways, USC’s defense allowed the Irish to operate on a feast or famine basis, either dropping the Irish for losses or allowing plays over the top.

Notre Dame Special Teams:

The Irish had given up two special teams touchdowns in 2016 before taking the field at the Coliseum. On the day, they gave up two scores to Adoree’ Jackson — one on a punt, the other on a kickoff.

Notre Dame’s special teams haven’t been spectacular this season by any stretch and Jackson is one of the nation’s best, but that begs the question, why did they kick his way in the first place? Not that anyone around USC is complaining.