Perhaps you saw this week when a Pac-12 insider said USC wasn’t going to the College Football Playoff because Notre Dame was going to run all over the Trojan defense. It seems like Trojan coach Lincoln Riley saw.

A great number of pundits thought Notre Dame, which had been playing much better football since its early-season struggles, would be able to out-muscle USC. Riley heard it all.

After the Trojans’ 38-27 win over the Irish, Riley told reporters he was tired of seeing the negative narrative about his defense.

In reality, USC effectively stymied Notre Dame’s rushing attack. The Irish had 90 yards on the ground for the game. They averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, just the second time in the last nine games they were held under 4 yards per carry.

Logan Diggs, the team’s leading rusher, had just 34 yards on 12 carries.

Notre Dame had 37 rushing yards on 15 carries in the first half as USC raced out to an early lead and never looked back.

The Trojans couldn’t have asked for a better showing at a better time. Ohio State lost, LSU lost, and Clemson lost. A week after the College Football Playoff selection committee knocked the Trojans for giving up 45 points in the win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl, USC tightened things up a bit on the ground.