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Temple may loom as key game in Notre Dame's bowl plans

Notre Dame-USC is always a big game but on Saturday the game and the Fighting Irish grab the backseat due to the latest high drama at the University of Southern California. The Trojans show up with an interim head coach after Steve Sarkisian was let go reportedly because of alcohol problems.

    by Mike Jensen, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Notre Dame-USC is always a big game, but on Saturday the game and the Fighting Irish grab the backseat due to the latest high drama at the University of Southern California. The Trojans show up with an interim head coach after Steve Sarkisian was let go reportedly because of alcohol problems.

How will this impact this game? Here's the guess: Not much. The issue had been simmering already and USC has some veteran leaders, including a savvy QB in Cody Kessler.

The fact that USC comes in 3-2 and unranked is a problem for 5-1 Notre Dame since Stanford will move up from 15th after taking out UCLA. The only other possible ranked opponent? The Temple Owls at the Linc on Oct. 31.

Meanwhile, a Will Fuller update: In Saturday's 41-24 victory over Navy, the Roman Catholic High graduate had five catches for 80 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown catch, his seventh TD this season.