Ronald Johnson was unable to come up with the game-winning touchdown catch against Notre Dame.
The longstanding rivalry between the USC Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish has produced many instant classics, but fortunately for the Trojans, Saturday’s 20-16 loss doesn’t look to be one of them.
Fifth-year senior Mitch Mustain got his first start in four years when Notre Dame visited the Coliseum on Saturday night, and the USC Trojans got their first loss in the series since 2001.
Mustain, in for injured starter Matt Barkley, hoped his Senior Night would also be his coming out party, his chance to play Matt Cassel behind Barkley’s Tom Brady. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Mustain was shaky to start, nearly throwing an interception on his first pass, but he settled down and handled a mediocre game fairly well. His stats (20 of 37 for 177 yards) would’ve been better if his receivers had given him any help. Five dropped passes by five different targets contributed to USC’s offensive woes, as the recently stagnant offense stalled for the second straight game.
The most notable drop came with under two minutes in the game, as the Trojans battled to come back for the win. On third down and 7 at the USC 47, Mustain dropped back and launched a rocket toward Ronald Johnson as he streaked toward the end zone.
The Notre Dame defender slipped on the rainy turf, leaving RoJo wide open at the 15 yard line. It wasn’t a pass anyone expected from the backup quarterback, but it was the pass USC needed to reclaim the lead late in the fourth quarter. Too bad Johnson dropped it. The senior receiver, who’d been a lock all season, managed to drop the game-winning touchdown pass that hit him directly in the shoulder.
Mustain kept his poise, regrouped, and hit tight end Rhett Ellison for 14 yards and the first down, then frequent target Robert Woods for 16 yards and another first down. In spite of RoJo’s big blunder, it looked like Mustain might make a name for himself with a last-minute winning drive. At least, it looked that way until he threw a strike to Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith on the one-yard line, his only interception of the night, but undoubtedly the one people will remember for many years to come.
It wasn’t the happy ending Mustain, Johnson, and the other seniors who’d stayed despite the NCAA sanctions, had wanted. Johnson was nearly inconsolable, but he wasn’t the only Trojan who literally dropped the ball on a big play.
Head coach Lane Kiffin called a conservative game, partly because of the backup quarterback and partly because of the driving rain, but if his play later in the game was any indication, Mustain should’ve been allowed to air it out much earlier, rather than leaning on a non-existent run game.
USC rushed for only 80 yards in the game, as neither Marc Tyler nor Dillon Baxter could find any holes against the Irish. C.J. Gable came in early in the second half but had no more success. Noticeably absent from the game plan was senior running back Allen Bradford, still in Kiffin’s doghouse after fumbling the ball several times earlier in the game.
Bradford, who tweeted after the game “I am 100% healthy,” has a bruising style of running and may have been able to power through the Notre Dame D-line, but his ball control issues kept him on the bench, especially considering the wet conditions on the field. His upside might’ve been worth the risk, though.
Notre Dame running back Robert Hughes has a similar stature and style, and he battered the Trojans’ for 69 yards, most of them on the game-winning touchdown drive, when he ran for 36 yards and the score, merely the latest in a series of late-game drives USC’s defense has allowed this season.
Overall, though, the defense had one of its better performances of the year against Notre Dame, holding them to under 300 yards of total offense and forcing four turnovers (three interceptions and one fumble). The D started the game strong; they forced Notre Dame to go three and out on its first possession before Chris Galippo intercepted Irish quarterback Tommy Rees on the second, leading to a USC field goal.
The defense struggled when the Irish put together sustained drives. With under a minute left in the first half, Cierre Woods ran 28 yards for the Irish and Rees completed passes to Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert to get to the goal line. Duval Kamara caught the one-yard touchdown pass, his only catch of the game, but kicker David Ruffer missed the extra point.
Trojans’ middle linebacker Devon Kennard started the third quarter off with an interception, setting up another USC field goal to narrow the score. Notre Dame went three and out on its next possession but the Trojans’ offense sputtered again. Notre Dame’s next possession, though, gave the ball right back to the Trojans. Wes Horton tipped Rees’ first-down pass, then Rees threw out of bounds on the next play, after attempting to hand the ball off to a nonexistent back. USC’s Nick Perry took control on third down, hitting Rees as he threw, knocking the ball out and recovering it at the Notre Dame two-yard line.
USC’s offensive problems were illustrated by the ensuing touchdown drive, which took four plays to go two yards to the end zone. On first, second, and third down, Kiffin called Tyler’s number, for no gain. Finally, Mustain kept it and snuck it through the line for the touchdown, the first Notre Dame’s defense had allowed in thirteen quarters.
The game was tied, 13-13, heading into the fourth quarter. USC burned some time off the clock on a heavily penalized drive that resulted in a punt, but Marshall Jones intercepted Rees to give the Trojans another shot. Mustain hit short passes to Johnson and Rhett Ellison, and Gable carried the ball four times but gained only eight yards and the Trojans had to kick a field goal. It wasn’t enough of a cushion after Notre Dame put another touchdown on the board with under three minutes left in the game and the Trojans failed to answer.
The highlight of the game for USC had to be the kicking. Senior Joe Houston was perfect on the night, making field goals of 45, 23, and 37 yards. The former walk-on was only 7 of 13 on field goals coming into the game, and jaws dropped around the Coliseum when Kiffin sent Houston out for a 45-yard try midway through the first quarter. They dropped even further when he made it, a career long.
Houston had struggled all season, missing several key kicks, including a would-be game-winner. On the night when he exceeded all expectations, the team’s most reliable senior, Ronald Johnson, fell short. One play can’t lose a game, but one play can win it, and that catch would’ve. One play can turn a backup into a legend, and that pass – if complete – would’ve been Mitch Mustain’s legacy. Instead, the ball slipped from Johnson’s hands, just like so many of the Trojans’ goals for the season.
All that’s left now is another must-win, a chance to bounce back from the bitter loss against crosstown rival UCLA this Saturday night.
