USC Trojans vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction and Picks – Saturday, October 18, 2025
Use Code SSWC The No. 20 USC Trojans and No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will renew a classic college football rivalry in South Bend this Saturday, and we'll preview the lines and odds in our USC vs. Notre Dame prediction. The Trojans are 5-1 after taking out the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines 31-13 in Week 7, while Notre Dame is 4-2 after beating N.C. State to stack their fourth straight win. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM ET on Saturday, October 18.
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USC carries high-flying offense into Week 8
At 5-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play, the USC Trojans are flying high entering Week 8 of the 2025 college football season. They're 20th in the AP Top 25 after knocking off 15th-ranked Michigan last week, and the only blemish on their record is a two-point loss to the 23rd-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini in Week 5.
The Trojans didn't score at will against Michigan, but they consistently poured on points throughout the game while the Wolverines struggled to keep up. Junior quarterback Jayden Maiava finished the game with 265 passing yards, having completed 25 of 32 attempts, averaging a 78.1 completion percentage and 8.3 yards per attempt. Freshman running back King Miller stole the show, racking up 158 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries after taking only 11 carries across the team's first five games. The offense finished with 489 total yards while the defense allowed only 316 yards, ending two of the Wolverines' last four drives with interceptions.
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Maiava has passed for 1,852 yards with 13 TDs and just two interceptions this season. His top target is Makai Lemon, who has caught 44 passes for 682 yards.
USC enters Week 8 with the second-highest mark in passing yards (325.8), the 16th-highest mark in rushing yards (226.5), and the third-highest mark in points (45.5) per game among FBS teams. Those numbers will be tested against a Notre Dame defense that's allowed exactly seven points to each of their last two opponents.
Irish moving up in the world
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter Week 8 at 4-2 overall, 13th in the AP Top 25, and over a month removed from either of the losses on their record. Since losing 27-24 against Miami and 41-40 against Texas A&M–two teams currently in the top four of the Top 25–the Irish are 3-0-1 against the spread with dominant wins over Purdue (56-30), Arkansas (56-13), Boise State (28-7), and N.C. State (36-7).
Last week's win went without a hitch for the Irish, who racked up 485 yards against the Wolfpack defense. Freshman quarterback C.J. Carr completed 19 of 31 passes for 342 yards, averaging only a 61.3 completion percentage but 11.0 yards per attempt. The two-headed backfield of Jeremiyah Love and Jaradrian Price struck again–Love with 86 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, Price with 66 yards on 15 carries, both with at least one run of 20+ yards.
The team enters Week 8 ranked 20th in passing yards (292.8), 50th in rushing yards (172.7), 14th in points (40.0), and 46th in points allowed (20.8) per game among 136 FBS teams. Love ranks 27th among FBS ball carriers with 530 rushing yards, averaging an even 5.3 across 100 carries; Price ranks 61st with 422, averaging 6.7 per attempt on 63 carries. Carr has 1,622 yards passing with 13 TDs and just three picks.
Defensively, the team held Wolfpack quarterback C.J. Bailey–who still ranks fifth among FBS players with 1,846 passing yards–to a season low 186 yards, a 56.7 completion percentage, and only one touchdown to three interceptions. They'll have a bigger challenge in Week 8 with Jayden Maiava, who slots in just ahead of Bailey with 1,852 passing yards for the Trojans.
USC vs. Notre Dame Pick
Spread Pick for USC vs. Notre Dame
- USC +9.5 (-115) (4 Units)
USC and Notre Dame meet annually–the only gap in their recent matchup history is the 2020 season. The teams are an even 5-5 against the spread in those meetings; Notre Dame has won seven of them, but they haven't covered when favored by any more than 7.5 points. The Trojans' lone loss this season came on the road, against a ranked Illinois team, by a margin of 34-32. I'd take Notre Dame to win this game, but I have reservations about them as a double-digit favorite.
Over/Under Pick for USC vs. Notre Dame
- Under 62.0 (-110) (4 Units)
It's been over a month since Notre Dame lost 41-40 to Texas A&M, and I wouldn't expect them to throw 56 points down on USC as easily as they did against Purdue and Arkansas. None of their other three games hit 62 total points, and the Team Total Under is 2-0 through their most recent 28-7 win over Boise State and 36-7 win over N.C. State. The Trojans haven't been nearly as dominant on the road as they've been at home this season, and they haven't eclipsed 30 points in South Bend since losing 41-31 in 2015.
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