Christian Gray’s 99-yard pick-6 with 3:39 left gave Notre Dame its No. 5 win over USC 49-35 on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. With the win, the Fighting Irish locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Trojans were headed for a potential game-tying touchdown on a 22-yard reception from Duce Robinson and a 23-yard run from Quinten Joyner. This put USC on the Irish 21-yard line.
Jayden Maiava then looked for Kyron Hudson down the right sideline. But his pass was dropped while Hudson fell and Gray scrambled to the 1-yard line. The sophomore returned the ball 60 yards down the sideline before moving toward the left hash and running into the end zone with four Irish teammates keeping defenders off him.
On the next possession, USC again drove toward a potential touchdown and moved 62 yards in seven plays. But on 4-6 from the Notre Dame 13-yard line, Maiava was intercepted again, this time in the end zone by safety Xavier Watts.
The senior ran his pick-6 back for 100 yards with no Trojans offensive linemen coming close.
What looked like USC’s rally started on Ja’Kobi Lane’s touchdown catch with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter. The score reduced the lead of the Irish to 35:28. The Trojans’ defense then forced Notre Dame to punt on the next possession, aided by a holding and sack penalty on Jamil Muhammad.
A 60-yard punt by James Rendell moved USC back to the 16-yard line. But the Trojans drove 63 yards in five plays before a fatal interception by Gray ruined any chances of a comeback.
Notre Dame’s chances for a spot in the College Football Playoff looked uncertain after a shocking loss to Northern Illinois in the second game of the season. But the Irish won their next 10 games, including top 25 victories over Louisville, Navy and Army. And Notre Dame opened its season with a win against Texas A&M, one of the top teams in the SEC.
The Irish were ranked fifth in the latest iteration of the CFP rankings and will likely move up after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan. Either way, they basically locked up a home playoff game with the win (they can’t get a bye since they’re independents).