Notre Dame takes on Southern California tonight in South Bend to resume one of the longest football rivalries in the nation. The Irish and Trojans resume their series after one year off in 2020 due to COVID-19.

It doesn’t matter what the records are for the two teams when they enter this game, it still remains one of the most important match ups on both school’s schedule.

ND, ranked 13th, comes into the game with a 5-1 record while the Trojans are 3-3 and unranked.

USC started the season with high hopes but after the Stanford game, which USC was soundly defeated, 45-14, head coach Clay Helton lost his job.

Since then the Trojans have been playing good football and improving every week. There has been some setbacks, however. And make no mistake about it, USC has plenty of talent.

The Irish and Trojans have been playing since 1926. There were some interruptions in the series over the years, but very few.

ND leads the overall series, 47-36-5 and has won the last three, including in 2019, 30-27.

There has been games when both teams entered the game ranked in the Top 10, once when they were ranked in the Top 2. There has been exciting finishes and there have been blowout victories for each school.

Both teams are coming from a week off so both had plenty of time to prepare for each other.

The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV and is the first in back-to-back night games in South Bend, with North Carolina coming to South Bend next weekend for a 7:30 p.m. start.

IRISH NOTES: Since we didn’t have a column last week after ND’s come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech, here are some stats from that game. ND again used a two-quarterback system with Jack Coan the starter and Tyler Buchner coming. Drew Pyne, who played well in two previous games, did not get on the field for this game. Coan was nine of 12 and a touchdown while Buchner was six of 14 with two interceptions and one touchdown. Kyren Williams rushed for 81 yards on 19 carries and a score followed by Buchner with 67 on 12 and Logan Diggs, 29 on six. Receiving had Williams with five catches for 26 yards and a score, Kevin Austin three for 70 and Braden Lenzy, two of 31. Jonathan Doerer was one for one in field goals, hitting the game winner with a 48 yarder. Defensively, JD Bertrand had 10 tackles followed by Isaiah Foskey, Jayson Ademilola, Drew White and Clarence Lewis, with six each. ND finished the game with 180 rush yards and 221 passing....Sophomore tight end Michael Mayer, the leader in receptions (32) and receiving yards (360), will be back in the lineup tonight....Sophomore running back Chris Tyree, who missed most of the second half at Virginia Tech with a turf toe injury, has also been cleared to return tonight....The Irish lost freshman tight end Cane Berrong for the remainder of the season last week due to a knee injury....Recruiting is a key to all football programs and it never stops. Schools and coaches are continuously looking at talent across the nation and make contact with the players, per NCAA rules. Right now ND has one of the top 5 classes in the nation for 2022 with 21 commitments. Here is a list of recruits in the class of 2022, by virtue of the South Bend Tribune: WR C.J. Williams • 6-2, 190 • Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei; WR Tobias Merriweather • 6-4, 180 • Camas (Wash.) Union; CB Benjamin Morrison • 6-0, 172 • Phoenix Brophy Prep; LB Jaylen Sneed • 6-2, 215 • Hilton Head Island (S.C.) High; DB Devin Moore • 6-2, 175 • Naples (Fla.) High; DB Jayden Bellamy • 6-0, 175 • Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic; OL Ashton Craig • 6-5, 280 • Lawrenceburg (Ind.) High; LB Niuafe Tuihalamaka • 6-3, 230 • Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany; DT Donovan Hinish • 6-2, 275 • Pittsburgh Central Catholic; TE Holden Staes • 6-4, 230 • Atlanta Westminster School; TE Eli Raridon • 6-6, 230 • West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley; LB Joshua Burnham • 6-4, 215 • Traverse City (Mich.) Central; CB Jaden Mickey • 6-0, 175 • Corona (Calif.) Centennial; WR Amorion Walker • 6-3, 181 • Ponchatoula (La.) High; QB Steve Angeli • 6-3, 215 • Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic; RB Jadarian Price • 5-11, 180 • Denison (Texas) High; DE Aiden Gobaira • 6-6, 235 • Chantilly (Va.) High; DE Tyson Ford • 6-5, 245 • St. Louis John Burroughs School; OT Ty Chan • 6-6, 275 • Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy; LB Nolan Ziegler • 6-4, 210 • Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central; OL Joey Tanona • 6-5, 280 • Zionsville (Ind.) High....ND is losing one of its QBs. Brendon Clark, who played last year and put himself in position to challenge for the starting job on at least in the top three QB positions this year, has announced he is entering the transfer portal. He is currently fourth on the dept chart. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior announced his decision earlier this week. You can always expect such moves by players in backup positions....Now from the ND athletic department: Seven different Irish players have recorded an interception this season after TaRiq Bracy tallied his first career interception against Virginia Tech. Defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey is tied for eighth in the NCAA with 1.0 sacks per game this season. The Irish have totaled 14 takeaways this season, which is tied for 11th nationally. Notre Dame is 19th nationally for third down defense as it has held opponents to 29-for-91 (32%) on third down. The Irish are 70-9 under head coach Brian Kelly when they score 30 or more points. JD Bertrand has totaled 58 tackles through the first six games of the season. It is the most by an Irish player through the first six games of a season since Manti Te’o had 69 in the first six games of the 2010 season....With the comeback win over Virginia Tech, it is the third time this season the Irish have won a game after the opponent scored first and second time in a game. This year they have won a game when they have trailed heading into the fourth quarter....The Virginia Tech win extended Notre Dame’s win streak to 36-straight wins over unranked opponents. It is the longest active streak in the FBS. The Irish also won their 21st-consecutive regular season game against ACC opponents. The Irish are 25-1 against ACC foes in the regular season since the start of the 2017 season....Kelly is 7-3 against USC....USC is similar to ND in one respect. The Trojans have been playing multiple quarterbacks the past few weeks and it will be the same tonight....ND is favored by only seven points despite being home.....In my preseason picks I have the Irish winning tonight. Now I’m not so sure because the offense is still struggling. I feel tonight is a toss up game.