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BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A giddy Bob Davie and his Notre Dame Fighting
Irish appear headed to a big-time bowl game, and he's happy to talk
about it.
|  | | Notre Dame's Matt LoVecchio ran for two TDs and helped the Irish win their seventh straight under the freshman's leadership. |
Southern California coach Paul Hackett is likely to be fired any
minute, and he figures there's no hurry to discuss it.
Freshman Matt LoVecchio ran for two touchdowns and engineered an
efficient offense, and the Irish (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 11 AP) turned two blocked
punts into touchdowns and two interceptions into two more
scores Saturday in beating mistake-prone USC 38-21.
By winning for the seventh straight time since LoVecchio became
their starting quarterback, the Irish (9-2) are in line for a Bowl
Series Championship game -- probably the Fiesta Bowl -- and a $13.5
million payday.
"I certainly hope it's the Fiesta Bowl or the Sugar Bowl,"
said Davie, whose team went 5-7 last season. "I think it's a team
people will enjoy. I think we'd be pretty attractive.
"I think we're a good team. I think a month from now, we'll be
a really good team. We're not a team that wins pretty, we're a team
that wins because other teams turn the ball over and we don't turn
the ball over."
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Sat, November 25
Notre Dame played a very efficient football game. They had no turnovers today and only eight all year, which ties an NCAA record. They did what they had to do. They were opportunistic in every way. They blocked two kicks in the first half, they collected two other turnovers and they had a short field to play on all day. With their running game as strong as it's been the last month, it played right into their hands.
USC was tough, they didn't quit. Carson Palmer lit it up in the second half and their receivers made good plays, but it was too little too late. It appeared as if the Trojans might rally in the third quarter when they stuffed the Irish on a fourth down near midfield. But they went three-and-out and that took a lot of wind out of their sails.
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The Trojans (5-7), meanwhile, endured their first losing season
since 1991, and just their third in the last 39 years.
It's been speculated that Hackett, whose teams have a 19-18
record in three seasons, will be fired as early as Sunday. He has
two years left on his contract.
After a short visit to the USC locker room following the game,
athletic director Mike Garrett said he was "still deliberating"
Hackett's future.
After giving Davie, his staff and the Irish credit and lamenting
his team's turnovers and problems in the kicking game, Hackett
said, "I'll take a couple questions and then I'm going to
hibernate."
When asked specifically about his future, he replied: "I'll
talk about that later, we'll have plenty of time to talk about that
later. I'll talk about the game right now."
Hackett did say he didn't believe that rumors of his imminent firing
affected the Trojans.
"Our team has been dealing with all the swirlings for three or
four weeks now," he said. "They were able to put it aside."
USC wide receiver Matt Nickels said Hackett "did a great job of
not letting it affect us."
"It's definitely not just him, it was players dropping the
ball," Nickels said. "After all, we are the ones carrying the
ball."
The win was the first for the Irish over USC in Los Angeles
since 1992. Losses to the Trojans at the Coliseum in 1996 and 1998
cost them lucrative bowl bids, but it was a different story on this
sunny day.
LoVecchio completed 9 of 14 passes for 142 yards, and rushed for
45 yards on 11 carries. He scored on a 13-yard run early in the
second quarter that snapped a 7-all tie and put the Irish ahead for
good, and a 1-yarder on fourth-and-goal late in the third period.
"I think our quarterback is a guy that's remarkable, the great
thing about Matt LoVecchio is he won't change," Davie said.
"I'm just so honored by the opportunity to play," LoVecchio
said. "This is a dream come true. I don't think I'm 7-0, the team
is."
Tony Fisher gained 71 yards on 15 carries, and Julius Jones
picked up 71 yards on 20 carries for the Irish.
USC's Carson Palmer was 17-of-35 for 251 yards, but was
intercepted twice and lost a fumble, giving the Trojans 36
turnovers this season compared to 17 by the opposition.
The Irish didn't commit a turnover, leaving them with only eight
compared to 22 by their opponents.
"You shouldn't doubt us, we are on a roll, we are back," Irish
cornerback Brock Williams said. "Our defense stepped up, special
teams have done everything for us. We practice that every day. It's
a big-time win. Now, no one can doubt us, it's all together."
Notre Dame extended a 21-14 halftime lead to two touchdowns on
LoVecchio's second TD, which came five plays after Glenn Earl's
interception at the Notre Dame 48.
USC drew within seven points on Palmer's 10-yard pass to Antoine
Harris on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the Irish made
it 31-21 on a 39-yard field goal by Nick Setta with 12:09 to play.
The Trojans then moved to the Notre Dame 39, but Palmer was
sacked twice in a row and USC wound up punting. The Irish then
moved 80 yards -- all on the ground -- for the clinching touchdown, a
2-yard run by Jones with 2:57 left.
Notre Dame took a 7-0 lead on Terrance Howard's 1-yard run,
capping a 40-yard drive after David Givens partially blocked Mike
MacGillivray's punt, which traveled only 14 yards.
USC tied the game on a 3-yard bootleg by Palmer to cap a 65-yard
drive, but Notre Dame scored twice in a span of less than four
minutes early in the second period for a 21-7 lead.
First, Chad DeBolt blocked a punt by MacGillivray, and the Irish
needed only four plays plus a roughing the passer penalty to move
50 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, scored by LoVecchio.
Three plays later, Tony Driver returned an interception 43 yards
to the Trojans' 19, setting up a 1-yard scoring run by Fisher.
On USC's next possession, Davie came on the field and had to be
restrained after a defensive holding penalty on a third-down
incompletion. Palmer threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Kelly
on the very next play.
The game was played before a crowd of 81,342. The Irish lead the
series with USC 41-26-5.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Notre Dame Clubhouse
USC Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Notre Dame's QB Matt LaVecchio takes it in himself for a 13-yard touchdown run.
avi: 770 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Carson Palmer fakes the inside handoff and rolls 3 yards for the USC score.
avi: 640 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Matt Lavecchio hits Javin Hunter with a 47-yard strike to set up the Irish on the USC 5-yard line.
avi: 1187 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kareem Kelly catches up with the Carson Palmer pass 59 yards downfield to set up a Trojan score.
avi: 1760 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Notre Dame's Tony Driver picks off Carson Palmer and returns it to the USC 20 to set up an Irish TD.
avi: 1429 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Bob Davie hopes his Irish have done enough to get into a BCS bowl.
wav: 453 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Matt LoVecchio says the Irish have stepped up after their loss to Michigan State.
wav: 117 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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