It was an ominous bit of imagery at what could be the bitter end of a century-long series. Dark clouds descending over Touchdown Jesus, and a heavy downpour soaking every soul in Notre Dame Stadium, as if Mother Nature herself was lashing out at the prospect of one of college footballs defining rivalries dying in vain.
Both USC and Notre Dame have suggested they want the rivalry to continue if they can come to an agreement in the coming months. But if this was indeed the end, 99 years since USC and Notre Dame first met on a football field, it would be a particularly crushing finale for the Trojans, who fell 34-24 and now find their hopes of a College Football Playoff bid hanging by a thread.
Saturday seemed well on its way to a different sort of conclusion, when the Irish shanked a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava found wideout Makai Lemon downfield for a 42-yard gain.
All the games momentum was suddenly in the hands of USC coach Lincoln Riley and his offense. Thats when Riley dialed up a hair-brained trick play that hed surely regret later.
Sprinting right on an end-around, Lemon took the handoff from Maiava and immediately found himself trapped by the Notre Dame defense. Lemon cocked the ball as if he were going to throw, only to have the ball stripped away.
It was a rare misstep from the Trojans star, but an especially costly one. It took seven plays for Notre Dame to find the end zone after that, as quarterback C.J. Carr punched it in from one yard out to put the game away.
Sign up for more USC news with Times of Troy. In your inbox every Monday morning.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.