{"id":233644,"date":"2025-10-18T10:06:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233644\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:06:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:06:11","slug":"paul-finebaum-jordan-rodgers-make-picks-for-usc-at-notre-dame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/233644\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Finebaum, Jordan Rodgers make picks for USC at Notre Dame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notre Dame<\/a> will host USC<\/a> in South Bend on Saturday, as their historic rivalry will be renewed. Entering the showdown, both programs are desperate for a statement victory, with another chapter being added to one of college football\u2019s more fascinating matchups.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the showdown, ESPN\u2019s Paul Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers offered their predictions via the latest episode of Get Up. They\u2019re split on which side will come out on top between the Fighting Irish and the Trojans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going with the Trojans,\u201d Finebaum said. \u201cAnd Greeny, you and I remember when this was maybe the defining game in the country every single year. It\u2019s not that anymore, but it may be the most important game this weekend \u2014 because if Southern Cal can get this win, they\u2019re in great shape for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cConversely, Notre Dame cannot afford to lose. Remember, they\u2019ve lost at Miami<\/a>, they lost at home to Texas A&M<\/a>, and they haven\u2019t really beaten what I would call a really good team. Lincoln Riley\u2019s<\/a> brought this program back. Watch out \u2014 here come the Trojans.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Finebaum mentioned, his pick is rooted in his confidence in Riley\u2019s ability to get USC back into national contention. The Trojans have been up and down since joining the Big Ten under his watch, but their recent win over Michigan<\/a> showed signs of growth. Finebaum believes that momentum could carry over into South Bend, where a win would vault USC squarely into the College Football Playoff<\/a> race.<\/p>\n

However, Rodgers sees things differently. He believes Notre Dame\u2019s balance and toughness will be too much for the Trojans to overcome. <\/p>\n

\u201cI like Notre Dame,\u201d Rodgers countered. \u201cLook, I think we kind of always, at some point in the season every year, get fooled by USC because they put up big numbers. And yes, Jayden Maiava<\/a> is really, really good, but CJ Carr<\/a> on the other side is playing some good football, and I don\u2019t think enough people are noticing because everyone\u2019s focused on Jeremiyah Love<\/a> and Jadarian Price<\/a>. They run so well, but CJ Carr has been great pushing the ball downfield \u2014 14 completions of 20-plus yards this year, that\u2019s 11th in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember, this guy was making his first start in Week 1 and has had his highs and lows throughout the season, but this is a Notre Dame team that\u2019s going to remind people that USC can look good on paper; they can put up big numbers, but it\u2019s in the trenches where they\u2019ve fallen short year after year. Notre Dame, with their backs against the wall, will be the more physical team \u2014 and I think they get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Finebaum backing USC and Rodgers siding with Notre Dame, the two ESPN analysts reflect the divide in how this matchup is viewed. All told, it seems like it\u2019ll be a clash of styles and one of the more interesting showdowns we\u2019ll see all weekend.<\/p>\n

When the Trojans and Irish collide under the lights in South Bend, one team\u2019s College Football Playoff dreams will get a massive boost, while the other\u2019s will take a serious hit. Kickoff is set for Saturday night in one of college football\u2019s most storied rivalries, and only one team can come out on top. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Notre Dame will host USC in South Bend on Saturday, as their historic rivalry will be renewed. Entering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-233644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}