LOS ANGELES — Not many young quarterbacks are forced to make their first career starts under the circumstances surrounding Max Wittek at the Coliseum tonight.
The freshman is replacing Matt Barkley, an injured senior who has claimed most of the career passing records at Southern California. He’s facing Notre Dame (11-0), a storied football power with a No. 1 ranking and the nation’s most feared defense.
The Irish need just one more victory to book a spot in the national title game, and the struggling Trojans (7-4) have lost three of four. Yet Wittek also has arguably the best receiving duo in the nation catching his passes.
If the enormity of this occasion is scaring Wittek, the confident 19-year-old with a bigger arm than Barkley hasn’t shown it.
“You really can’t ask for a better opportunity to show what you’ve got,” Wittek said. “I just want to get that first snap, maybe that first hit, out of the way, and I’ll be ready to go.”
Although USC has dominated the past decade in this intersectional rivalry, winning nine of 10 and missing a clean sweep by one dropped touchdown pass two years ago, Wittek and the Trojans realize most of the pressure is on the other sideline this time.
“You think about it,” Notre Dame safety Zeke Motta said. “In the back of your mind, it’s there that if you win this game, you’re going to play in the national championship. What more motivation do you need? But I think we want to treat it like any other game. Obviously it’s a rivalry game, so we’re going to be playing fierce and tough. We’re just focused on who we’re playing against and sticking it to them.”
Notre Dame has done its part to make the schools’ 84th meeting memorable. The Irish headed to the Coliseum with the No. 1 ranking for the sixth time in the schools’ shared history, and they’re unbeaten when facing USC for the first time since 1993.
USC is headed to a lower tier bowl game, but could halt its late-season slide from the preseason Associated Press No. 1 ranking by crushing the Irish’s title dreams. USC has stumbled after a 6-1 start to a season of enormous expectations, losing to Arizona, Oregon and UCLA in the previous four weeks.
“This is a game where we can get our respect back and get a good feeling about ourselves,” USC safety T.J. McDonald said.
Both teams are made up of teenagers and young adults who can’t possibly have the same connection to this rivalry as thousands of alumni, former players or football fans who simply enjoy the college sport’s best traditions. The USC coaching staff attempted to remedy some of those educational gaps this week, with Coach Lane Kiffin and defensive coordinator Ed Orgeron speaking up in team meetings about the series’ meaning.
Kiffin also played Notre Dame’s fight song during USC’s practices this week, hoping to remind the Trojans of their 31-17 upset victory in South Bend, Ind., last year.
“My dad never beat them, so he definitely has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to this rivalry,” said McDonald, whose father, Tim, also was a defensive back at USC. “All of the Trojan family is watching. Everyone wants to see how the Trojans are going to play, how they’re going to respond from last week. We’ve just got to be able to go out there and make a statement.”
Everybody on the USC offense knows all about the imposing Irish defense led by linebacker Manti Te’o, which has allowed just 10.1 points per game and eight touchdowns all season. Notre Dame’s punishing run defense has been almost impenetrable, but its pass defense has yet to be tested by an offense with USC’s talent - even with a freshman quarterback at the controls.
Wittek has played only sparingly this season, but has known he would be under the spotlight this week since the injured Barkley texted him after last week’s loss: “Let’s go beat the Irish.”
After two full years of practice in Kiffin’s offense, Wittek is eager to show the Trojans won’t have to keep it simple as they did two years ago, when backup Mitch Mustain (Springdale) filled in for the injured Barkley in Notre Dame’s 20-16 victory at the Coliseum.
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/24/2012