2002 USC-Notre Dame game is a reminder of what national relevance feels like

USC enters this week’s game against Notre Dame with a record of 10-1 and a No. 6 ranking in the College Football Playoff chase. The Trojans are playing the Fighting Irish with a lot on the line. The playoff berth, the Heisman Trophy for Caleb Williams, a New Year’s Six bowl bid, and the Trojans’ first win over Notre Dame since 2016 are all very big goals.

This is how USC-Notre Dame is supposed to feel. This is supposed to be a very big game for the Trojans, but since 2017, it hasn’t been. USC seasons have generally slid into irrelevance.

This year’s game? It’s very relevant on a national level.

In the various note panels below, college football historian Chris Kreager recalls the 2002 USC-Notre Dame game and aspects of the Trojans’ 2002 season, when the Men of Troy became relevant again under Pete Carroll:

(h/t Matt Zemek of Trojans Wire)

DOUBLE ACHIEVEMENT

USC beat Notre Dame in 2002 to notch an Orange Bowl bid and propel Carson Palmer to the victory stand a few weeks later at the Downtown Athletic Club in New York as a Heisman Trophy winner

EARLY PART OF THE NOTRE DAME GAME

The Trojans would get on the scoreboard when Carson Palmer threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams. Later, Palmer overthrew a wide-open Williams and the Trojans had to settle for a field goal and a 10-6 lead

BUMP IN THE ROAD IN SECOND QUARTER OF 2002 NOTRE DAME GAME

Then came the type of play that routinely bedeviled USC during their 0-12-1 skid vs the Irish in the 1980s and early 1990s: a blocked punt late in the first half that Notre Dame converted into a touchdown and a 13-10 lead

MISTAKES

In addition to the Palmer-Williams overthrow, Williams dropped another potential touchdown and Palmer threw two interceptions in the end zone

30 WASTED MINUTES

USC outgained the Irish 358-94 in the first half, held the ball for 20 minutes thanks to solid running by Fargas, but misplays had them trailing late.

THIS CHANGED VS NOTRE DAME

Palmer, for all his gaudy numbers in 2002, still had a reputation from prior years of not beating top-10 teams at USC.

GOOD RECOVERY BY USC

Palmer did just that, needing only one minute to put the Trojans ahead on a 19-yard touchdown pass to Williams.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

The Trojans led 17-13 at halftime and were dominating every statistical measure, but still had to put the game away.

At halftime, they could have lamented how they failed to achieve a blowout. Instead, they began to create a blowout in the second half

PULLING AWAY FROM THE IRISH 20 YEARS AGO

In the third quarter, Palmer threw another touchdown pass of 15 yards to Malaefou MacKenzie. Killeen made two field goals.

The score was 30-13 and it didn’t stop there.

COMPLETE SECOND HALF VS NOTRE DAME IN 2002

In the fourth quarter, Sultan McCullough ran for a 10-yard touchdown and MacKenzie caught another Palmer touchdown from nine yards out.

USC didn’t sulk. It rededicated itself at halftime and continued to dominate. The final was 44-13, reflective of the mastery the Trojans showed and the physical superiority they established for 60 minutes.

HELLO, HEISMAN!

Palmer, who hadn’t played well in big games under Paul Hackett and even in his first year with Pete Carroll, threw for 425 yards and 4 touchdowns on 32 completions.

ALPHA MALE

Mike Williams caught 10 passes for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns, with MacKenzie’s two touchdowns coming on 4 catches for 30 yards.

BREAKTHROUGH

The Trojans, who had struggled in big marquee games for years, had a true signature win. It was their first top-10 win since Notre Dame in 1998. It was
their first win over a Ty Willingham team in three tries going back to Palmer’s freshman year in 1998, when Ty coached Stanford.

BLOODBATH

With the Irish’s 13 points coming off USC miscues, the real stat of the game was the 109 total yards gained by the Irish offense.

USC? 610.

That’s right: 610 yards to 109.

SMOTHERED

The USC defense, which had struggled in its last three losses to Notre Dame and the Kansas State and Washington State losses from 2002, held the Irish to 13 points.

MULTI-PRONGED TROJANS

This was hardly a one-dimensional Mike Leach-style Texas Tech passing show for USC. The Trojans were dynamic and balanced. Justin Fargas ran for 120 yards on 20 carries to keep Notre Dame’s defense guessing.

KEITH JACKSON

A game of this magnitude–a legendary rivalry and a battle of top-10 teams- was called on ABC by the legendary Keith Jackson. Alongside him was former Oregon Duck and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts.

LONG FORGOTTEN

It started out haphazardly for USC: Ryan Killeen, who had a wrenchingly painful game in the Washington State loss from October of that year, missed a field goal.

THIS DIDN'T MATTER

The Irish turned a USC fumble into a field goal. Notre Dame later added another field goal to lead 6-0 after the first quarter.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire