COLUMN: Notre Dame passes a big USC test, finding the Irish Edge that can carry them to the CFP

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - About four hours until game time at South Bend, clouds began swirling and toiling above.

They changed from light gray, to a firm gray to a dark blue. The floodgates opened and the rain came down in droves. It only got worse as rain started flying sideways.

In the second half, Notre Dame and USC were nearly deadlocked in a three-point game where one or two plays would swing the game in a certain direction. 

These were not exactly the kind of conditions that Notre Dame expected to be in when it set a Notre Dame Stadium rushing record and found what its defense was made of. 

Saturday was a day that showed how far Notre Dame has come since that 41-40 heartbreaker loss to Texas A&M. In the torrential rain, the Irish reminded USC where Notre Dame Stadium exits are in a 34-24 win.

The Irish are clinging to an edge that not many teams can match. That edge can carry them to the College Football Playoffs.

"This is who we are," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "We adapt to unpredictable things."

Every game is a gotta-have-it game for Notre Dame now. 

After starting the year 0-2, Notre Dame cannot afford a misstep or a stumble. A loss takes them out of the College Football Playoff.

Now, though, Notre Dame is a team that’s gotten every moment when they needed it and more.

This was a team that was written off with its defensive struggles and offensive mental errors. The Irish worked their way back to earn a win that now ranks atop its 2025 resume. No longer can they point to two close losses to top-10 teams. They can point to a game where they matched USC’s physicality and pummeled them on the ground in the second half.

All-world running back Jeremiyah Love led that charge. He rushed for 228 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown. His first carry went for 63 yards. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry.

When the dust settled, Love racked up the sixth-most rushing yards in a single game, the most by a Notre Dame player in Notre Dame Stadium and the most by a Notre Dame player in the USC-Notre Dame rivalry.

"We played our butts off," Love said. "I love being physical."

Football is a physical game. That means players get hurt. Ashton Craig is out for the year after an injury he suffered last week.

Joe Otting came in. He led the charge for a Notre Dame rushing attack that totaled 300 yards between Love, Price and Carr. Freeman gave the same answer for Otting’s performance that he had for every other player who had to step in for an injury.

"You know what I'm going to say," Freeman said. "Delayed gratification. He was ready for his opportunity because he worked every day in practice. He didn't know when the opportunity was going to come and he was ready for it."

Otting was ready. Love was ready. 

Christian Gray and Jadarian Price were ready, too.

USC picked on Gray Saturday. Freeman said he challenged Gray after a difficult series, and Gray responded with an interception that flipped the field. Gray made sure Freeman knew about it, too.

USC scored to pull ahead for the first time in the second half to lead 24-21. Price, like he did two years ago vs. USC, returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards to the house to regain the lead.

"I didn’t do the right thing, I kind of went outside the block," Price said. "But it worked out. Once I broke out of the first tackle, I knew I was going to the house."

That kind of response only comes from a challenge that demands the type of play Notre Dame had on Saturday.

Freeman challenged his players. He said earlier in the week that this game was going to be a blood bath. The rain washed out how bloody this game was, but Freeman’s expectations lived up to what was on the field.

There were so many factors at hand. With every play potentially putting the season in the balance, Freeman challenged Notre Dame to be physical.

"The rain helped create that type of game that it was going to be," Freeman said. "An O-line, D-line driven game and be won in the trenches. We weren't going to be able to throw the ball a lot in the second half because of the moisture and the weather, and that's what we want."

Freeman wanted his players to bring their edge. Not just to make a statement, but to force USC to match that style.

The Trojans didn’t. They blinked. They had three second-half turnovers as Notre Dame bled the clock and delivered the knockout blow with a one-yard plunge by CJ Carr, which offered a solution to Notre Dame’s short-yardage issues.

"That's our edge," Freeman said. "We got to play the game in a physical manner that maybe not every team wants to play. Not saying they didn't. Not every team wants to play that way."

Notre Dame’s not perfect. Not by any means. Freeman knows there’s plenty to work on. That championship window is still open this year, but the trick is to just get into the playoffs, first.

The situations in 2025 aren’t ideal for Notre Dame to mount a playoff run. The redshirt-freshman quarterback, regressing defense and 0-2 start put the Irish behind.

But, Saturday showed Notre Dame has found its preferred style of play. 

If a team can match that edge, there’s not much the Irish can do from there.

Not many teams can match that, though. That’s what Notre Dame is counting on as the Playoffs begin to draw nearer.  

"That's what we want," Freeman said.