After the Notre Dame defense dominated No. 12 Syracuse last week the Irish play their most important game so far in the 2018 season tonight in Lose Angeles taking on rival Southern California.

The Syracuse win, 36-3, showed that the Irish defense can be dominating. The offense is still not quite up to par with the defense but supplies enough fire-power to score 36 points despite several mistakes in the game.

Notre Dame held Syracuse, who was averaging 44.4 points per game, to a field goal that came with less than a minute to play with the Irish second- and third-stringers in the contest. It took the Orange 73 plays to get 234 yards on offense, 248 yards less than its season average. Through three quarters the Orange only had 122 yards of offense.

Syracuse lost quarterback Eric Dungey in the first quarter, but it really didn’t affect the outcome of the game. Dungey was struggling in the contest. He completed only one of four passes for 10 yards prior to his exit. His backup, red-shirt freshman Tommy DeVito, had a hard time throwing the football as he was constantly harassed by the Irish defense.

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book returned to the lineup after missing the Florida State game and did a creditable job in completing 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. His completion percentage is 62.2.

After stalling on its first possession, the Irish offense then kicked in with ND opening a 29-0 lead. While the passing game supplied the bulk of the points in the game, the Irish running game struggled and it shouldn’t have. The Orange are not rated very high in rush defense but managed to hold the Irish in check. Dexter Williams managed just 74 rushing yards on 12 carries including a 32-yard TD run with 4:15 left in the game.

Brandon Wimbush got into the game late and got 44 yards on four carries with Jafa Armstrong getting 18 on three and a score. Book ran for 16 yards on six carries.

Receiver Miles Boykin had 76 yards on seven catches; Chase Claypool 98 on six and a score and Chris Finke, 19 on four. A total of seven players caught at least one pass in the game for the Irish.

Justin Yoon was three for three in field goals of 26, 29 and 29, after missing his first extra point try.

Defensively, the Irish were led by Te’von Coney with 12 tackles while Alohi Gilman had eight and Dru Tranquill seven.

Notre Dame had sacks from Tranquill, Kurt Hinish, Julian Okwara, Daelin Hayes and Coney.

Tonight the Irish face their biggest rival in the USC Trojans. The Trojans enter the game at 5-6 and are having an obviously up-and-down season.

The Trojans have impressive wins over Colorado, 31-20; and Washington State, 39-36; but losses to Texas, 37-14; and Stanford, 17-3. The other USC wins have been over UNLV, 43-21; Arizona, 24-20; and Oregon State, 38-31. The other losses have been to Utah, 41-28; Arizona State, 38-35; California, 15-14; and last week to cross-town rival UCLA, 34-27.

The Trojans are led by quarterback JT Daniels, who has completed 179 of 312 passes for 2,323 yards and 13 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. His backup, Jack Sears, is 20 of 28 for 232 and two scores.

Top rushers are Aca’Cedrix Ware, who has 757 yards on 112 carries and six TDs, backed by Vavae Malepeai, 480 yards on 89 carries and seven scores. Top receivers are Michael Pittman Jr., who has 667 yards on 34 catches and six TDs, Amon-Ra St. Bown, 656 yards on 56 receptions and three scores; and Tyler Vaughns, 554 on 46 and five scores.

The series actual totals are 47-37-5 in favor of the Irish, but deducting the games due to the NCAA penalties, it is 45-37-5 ND.

The Irish won last year in South Bend, 49-14. USC won in 2016, 45-27, in LA.

The game will be televised nationally by ABC-TV with a 8:10 p.m. kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... USC QB Daniels, a freshman, had a slow start but of late has settled in and is doing a good job for the Trojans. He will be a test for the Irish secondary. USC’s defense is their biggest problem as the pass rush is rated poor. The USC rushing attack is rated 103 nationally and sacks allowed 91st. It run defense is ranked 72nd....This will be the fourth game away from ND stadium in a five-week span for the Irish....Even though the Irish have not been penalized much this season, the false-start penalties are a problem and certainly gave head coach Brian Kelly a headache in the Syracuse game. ND had four penalties for false starts in the game....ND’s six sacks in the Syracuse game was the most since the Arizona State game in 2013....After a 13-0 lead over Syracuse at the end of the first quarter, Notre Dame has now outscored its opposition a combined 112-23 in first quarters this season....USC compares to a previous ND opponent, Florida State, in that its loaded roster has underachieved. Reportedly, head coach Clay Helton’s job is on the line....Now at 11-0, ND remained ranked third in the national rankings for the NCAA playoff series. If ND wins tonight they are almost assured of one of the four berths in the title series and will play on Jan. 1. If the standings remain the same on the final weekend, ND would play Clemson in the one playoff game while Alabama would take on Michigan. However, that could change if any of the top four teams lose in the final weeks

ND-USC SERIES HIGHLIGHTS ... Irish quarterback and Californian Ian Book stands second nationally in completion percentage (.726) and seventh in passing efficiency. The Trojans need a win to become bowl eligible. USC also is looking to end a two-game Coliseum losing skid after winning its previous 19 home contests. The Trojans have won 11 of the past 16 meetings with the Irish (including the past two in the Coliseum), but all five of those losses have been since 2010 (2010, ‘12, ‘13, ‘15, ‘17). USC has spoiled a perfect Notre Dame season five times in history (wins in 1938, 1964, 1970 and 1971 and a tie in 1948). On the other hand, an undefeated/untied Irish team has beaten USC 10 times, including in the most recent such matchup in 2012 (which, interestingly, also was played on Nov. 24 in the Coliseum). The other Notre Dame wins in that category came in 1929, ‘30, ‘47, ‘49, ‘61, ‘73, ‘88, ‘89 and ‘93. It’s just the fourth time a USC team with six-plus losses has faced Notre Dame (also 1957, 1996 and 2000). USC is about .500 historically against Notre Dame when coming off the UCLA game. USC has 32 players in the College Football Hall of Fame and Notre Dame has 46.Those facts came thanks to the ND athletic department website....Tonight is a biggie, to say the least. ND is going for a perfect regular season of 12-0 and a probable spot in the national championship series. For USC, they can turn a disappointing season into one to remember by upsetting the Irish and also gaining a bowl bid. USC has nothing to lose and everything to gain with a win tonight so they will throw everything they can at ND. In my preseason picks I have the Trojans winning this evening, that was based on preseason picks back in August when USC look like a favorite for the Pac 12 championship. ND is favored by just 11, despite the records of the two teams. Tonight’s game, to me, is a toss up. This is my last column of the regular season. I will be back with one before ND’s next game - either the championship semifinal on New Years Day or a bowl game.