November 27, 2004 Week 14 · Regular Season Belt defended

USC defends the belt, 41–10, at home over Notre Dame.

Home · Defending Holder

USC 41

Away · Challenger

Notre Dame 10

AI-Written

Recap

Notre Dame struck first with a Brady Quinn touchdown pass to Billy Palmer in the opening quarter, but USC methodically took over the game with Matt Leinart orchestrating a devastating offensive performance. After Ryan Killeen's opening field goal, USC scored three touchdowns in the second quarter alone, including a 57-yard strike to Dwayne Jarrett that essentially put the game away. Notre Dame's defense had no answer for Leinart and the Trojan receivers, as USC added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cruise to a 41-10 victory and retain the belt. The domination was complete on both sides of the ball, with USC holding Notre Dame to just 118 passing yards while Leinart carved up the Irish secondary for 408 yards through the air.

Billy Palmer's 2-yard TD reception gave Notre Dame an early 7-3 lead but proved to be the last time they would threaten
Dwayne Jarrett's 57-yard TD reception in Q2 broke open the game and shifted all momentum to USC
Reggie Bush's 70-yard TD reception in Q3 put the game completely out of reach
Matt Leinart's four total touchdown passes showcased USC's offensive superiority and earning the belt defense

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

USCNotre Dame

Total yards488300

Rushing yards83195

Passing yards408118

First downs2316

3rd down conv.6/134/15

Turnovers00

Penalties–yards0–00–0

Time of possession17:1019:29

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 11:00	Notre Dame	+20 yd	Brady Quinn (ND) pass right side complete to Anthony Fasano (ND) for 20 yards.
Q1 6:55	Notre Dame	+2 yd	Brady Quinn (ND) pass left side complete to Billy Palmer (ND) for a 2 yard touchdown.
Q1 6:55	Notre Dame	+0 yd	Extra point by D.J. Fitzpatrick (ND) is good.
Q1 1:30	USC	+39 yd	39 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q1 1:15	Notre Dame	+31 yd	Ryan Grant (ND) rushed left side for 31 yards.
Q2 11:54	Notre Dame	+28 yd	28 yard field goal by D.J. Fitzpatrick (ND) is good.
Q2 13:13	Notre Dame	+22 yd	Brady Quinn (ND) rushed left side for 22 yards.
Q2 6:19	USC	+12 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Dwayne Jarrett (USC) for a 12 yard touchdown.
Q2 6:19	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 6:49	USC	+41 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Steve Smith (USC) for 41 yards.
Q2 5:53	USC	+24 yd	Kickoff returned by Chase Anastasio (ND) for 24 yards.
Q2 2:41	USC	+57 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Dwayne Jarrett (USC) for a 57 yard touchdown.
Q2 2:41	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q2 2:06	USC	+26 yd	Kickoff returned by Chase Anastasio (ND) for 26 yards.
Q3 12:09	USC	+21 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass left side complete to Alex Holmes (USC) for 21 yards.
Q3 9:40	USC	+42 yd	42 yard field goal by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q3 5:26	Notre Dame	+39 yd	39 yard field goal by D.J. Fitzpatrick (ND) is no good.
Q3 8:38	Notre Dame	+21 yd	Darius Walker (ND) rushed right side for 21 yards.
Q3 3:16	USC	+70 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass right side complete to Reggie Bush (USC) for a 70 yard touchdown.
Q3 3:16	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 12:40	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 12:40	USC	+35 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Steve Smith (USC) for a 35 yard touchdown.
Q4 7:05	USC	+23 yd	Matt Leinart (USC) pass across the middle complete to Jason Mitchell (USC) for a 23 yard touchdown.
Q4 7:05	USC	+0 yd	Extra point by Ryan Killeen (USC) is good.
Q4 6:57	USC	+21 yd	Kickoff returned by Carlos Campbell (ND) for 21 yards.
Q4 6:52	Notre Dame	+0 yd	Fighting Irish fumble by Carlos Campbell (ND), recovered by Carlos Campbell (ND), advanced for no gain.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	QBR
Matt LeinartUSC	24/34	400	11.8	5	93.0
Matt CasselUSC	1/1	5	5.0	0	11.3
Brady QuinnNotre Dame	15/29	105	3.6	1	45.3
Carlyle HolidayNotre Dame	0/1	0	0.0	0	0.2

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	LONG
LenDale WhiteUSC	14	51	3.6	9
Reggie BushUSC	8	25	3.1	18
Matt LeinartUSC	3	7	2.3	7
Desmond ReedUSC	1	2	2.0	2
Hershel DennisUSC	1	-1	-1.0	0
Ryan GrantNotre Dame	15	94	6.3	32
Darius WalkerNotre Dame	11	64	5.8	20
Brady QuinnNotre Dame	8	30	3.8	22
Travis ThomasNotre Dame	1	2	2.0	2
Carlyle HolidayNotre Dame	1	0	0.0	0

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Dwayne JarrettUSC	6	102	17.0	2	57
Steve SmithUSC	4	96	24.0	1	42
Reggie BushUSC	1	69	69.0	1	69
Alex HolmesUSC	4	44	11.0	0	20
Jason MitchellUSC	2	38	19.0	1	23
Dominique ByrdUSC	4	23	5.8	0	11
Chris McFoyUSC	1	18	18.0	0	18
Lee WebbUSC	1	8	8.0	0	8
William BuchanonUSC	1	5	5.0	0	5
David KirtmanUSC	1	2	2.0	0	2
Anthony FasanoNotre Dame	2	25	12.5	0	20
Maurice StovallNotre Dame	1	17	17.0	0	17
Matt SheltonNotre Dame	2	13	6.5	0	9
Darius WalkerNotre Dame	3	10	3.3	0	8
Rhema McKnightNotre Dame	1	9	9.0	0	9
Jerome CollinsNotre Dame	2	9	4.5	0	5
Carlyle HolidayNotre Dame	1	4	4.0	0	4
Brad PalmerNotre Dame	1	1	1.0	1	1

Show more stats (3 more categories)

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Ryan KilleenUSC	2/2	100.0	42	5/5	11
D.J. FitzpatrickNotre Dame	1/2	50.0	28	1/1	4

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Carlyle HolidayNotre Dame	1	9	9.0	9	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Tom MaloneUSC	2	86	43.0	0	0	45
D.J. FitzpatrickNotre Dame	8	351	43.9	0	0	59

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.

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