![]() ![]() Kelly has full faith in the Irish’s ability to stop London and emerge from Saturday’s game victorious. Notre Dame will have its hands full this weekend, as Kelly is tasked with stopping the potent deep-ball threat - and the Notre Dame head coach understands just how tall a task it may be. 30, 2002, AP file photo, Southern California quarterback Carson Palmer holds up the Jeweled Shillelagh to celebrate USCs. ![]() The shillelagh, an Irish club, is made of oak or blackthorn saplings from Ireland. It hardly seems to matter who’s under center, as London has thrived alongside both USC quarterbacks in Kedon Slovis and Jaxson Dart. The Jeweled Shillelagh (shuh-LAY-lee) is the trophy awarded to the winner of the American college football rivalry game played annually by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame and USC Trojans football team of the University of Southern California. Through six games, London has tallied 832 receiving yards on 64 receptions, averaging a whopping 13.0 yards per reception, and he’s scored five touchdowns as well. They’ve got a lot of starters back on both sides of the ball, the return game is really good and Slovis and London, obviously, are an outstanding duo.” “So, having said that, this will be a great challenge for us, as I said, from a defensive standpoint. “If your name is London, you’re really good,” Kelly said, reflecting on London’s performance to date. In order to get past USC and claim the Jeweled Shillelagh - the longtime trophy of their rivalry - Notre Dame will have to find a way to stop star wide receiver Drake London, a top-tier receiver at USC that hasn’t been held in check in quite some time. It is one of the best rivalries in the history of college football, and to be a part of it in any facet is exciting.While the skidding USC Trojans deal with the ramifications of firing Clay Helton after Week 2, the 5-1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will look to add another Power Five win to their belt. “You know the legacy that’s behind it and what it means to both fan bases and both universities. “Any opportunity that you get to be associated with the USC-Notre Dame game, it gives you goosebumps, because you know the history that’s behind it,” said Helton, whose first game as USC’s interim head coach resulted in a 41-31 defeat at Notre Dame in 2015. More than 2,100 miles west, Helton eagerly sells the rivalry, shining a light on the Jeweled Shillelagh. For Kelly, this week is (mostly) business as usual. ![]() That’s what Kelly likes to call the “standard of Notre Dame.”Īnd in that area, plus many others, the programs drastically differ. In other words: it’s not just another game … but the Irish will prepare as if it is.īecause, in a perfect world, maximum effort is expected no matter the opponent, the stage, the shiny traveling trophy. They want to play in these kind of games.” But I think that that's why they come to Notre Dame. It has no bearing on what we need to do relative to our habits and our traits. “Having said that, that has no bearing on our preparation. “It's important not to just bury your head in the sand. “I think it's important that our players are aware of the game and the circumstances, because that's why they come here,” eighth-year head coach Brian Kelly said. Do you embrace the rivalry, or downplay it? How much attention is too much? Would an extra spotlight amplify your effort, or add unneeded pressure? It would be important even if this wasn’t being billed as a playoff eliminator wrapped in a rivalry (it is).Īnd, for a coaching staff, therein lies the dilemma. 11 USC wasn’t the highest ranked team to play at Notre Dame Stadium in the Brian Kelly Era (it is). It would be important even if both teams weren’t simultaneously ranked for the first time since 2009 (they are). Of course, the game is important - to players, to alums, to fans, to College Football Playoff committee members. I’m going to show it to the team tomorrow - to those freshmen - so they understand the history of how important this game is to both universities and both fan bases.” I kind of sell (the rivalry), to be honest with you,” Helton said on USC’s weekly radio show, “Trojans Live.” “We talk about the trifecta of being able to play for the (Jeweled) Shillelagh and play for the Victory Bell (with UCLA) and play for Rose Bowls. This week, he’s making sure his players know it, too. Of course, Helton - USC’s third-year head coach - already knows this. The two sides have sparred annually since 1926, with the only respite being a three-year hiatus from 1943 to 1945 for World War II.Īnd, same as every year since 1952, they’ll battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh - a foot-long Gaelic war club from Ireland made of oak or blackthorn saplings, bedazzled with ruby-adorned Trojan heads and emerald-studded shamrocks that represent each team’s respective victories. on Saturday, in the 17th night game in Notre Dame Stadium history, No. ![]()
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