Los Angeles, Ca. - Cody Kessler threw 6 touchdowns as the USC Trojans defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 49-14 Saturday in the programs' 85th meeting.
He threw for 372 yards in victory, completing 32-of-40 pass attempts and no interceptions and finishes the 2014 campaign with 36 touchdowns against only 4 interceptions and a 70 percent completion rate.
He completed passes Saturday to nine different receivers.
"He's really good when he plays within our system," head coach Steve Sarkisian said of Kessler. "When the shots were there, he took them."
His 6 shots Saturday became the most ever thrown by a quarterback against Notre Dame.
USC (8-4) jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead in the first quarter on his first three strikes.
George Farmer opened scoring with a 48 yard touchdown reception, secured after outracing Cole Luke easily down the sideline and coming open for the catch in stride.
USC needed only 1:38 and five snaps to cover 80 yards in the possession.
And only thirty seconds longer in their next, a 51 yard charge.
Adoree' Jackson, the Trojans' jack-of-all-trades, snuck out of the backfield, past the distracted Irish linebackers, and through an empty secondary before snagging a 16 yard floater in the end zone and the two-score lead.
But Farmer would return with 43 seconds left in the first session. His 31 yard touchdown reception came on the fifth play of the scoring drive after the receiver ran the easiest route of his collegiate career, travelling in a straight line past Cole Luke into paydirt.
That drive lasted all of 1:25.
Farmer finished with 85 yards on 4 receptions for the Trojans.
Kessler added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, taking a 35-0 lead over the injury-laded Irish defense.
After Justin Smith rushed for 9 and 11 yards on straight carries, Kessler found Nelson Agholor for 14 yards to the Irish 17, before connecting with Randall Tefler for a 6 yard score.
Agholor featured on their next drive, snagging a 14 yard touchdown reception after Javorius Allen took a 17 yard pass to the Irish 26. Kessler rushed himself for 8 yards on a 2nd-and-6 before floating the score to the speedy Agholor, who raced through traffic into the end zone.
He finished the game with 12 catches for 120 yards and the regular season with 11 touchdowns receiving.
His catches of 13 and 12 yards on the next drive would bring the home side to the Irish 33. JuJu Smith converted a 4th-and-8 with a 22 yard catch-and-run to the Irish 9.
From which Randall Tefler caught a darting pass from Kessler through traffic for the 42-7 lead.
Justin Smith rushed from 14 yards out to complete the Trojans' scoreline, capping off a 70 yard drive that featured two third-down converting passes from Kessler.
Javorius Allen and Smith rushed both 19 times, Allen for 93 yards and Smith for 81 and his score as USC outrushed Notre Dame 205-104.
The quarterback situation for Notre Dame (7-5) in defeat was exactly the opposite of their arch-rivals.
Though the Irish entered the game with a 2-game winning streak over USC, Everett Golson arrived at the Coliseum after suffering 13 interceptions and 11 lost fumbles, and featured a turnover in Notre Dame's last 8 showings.
His two turnovers Saturday led directly to two Trojans touchdowns.
His pass for Corey Robinson was high and deflected off the tight end's hands, into those of Gerald Bowman, who returned 24 yards to the USC 49.
And after throwing a 23 yarder to William Fuller on a 3rd-and-13 conversion, Golson was hit from behind by Lamar Dawson, knocking the ball airborne and into the path of Hayes Pullard for the recovery.
After that, Brian Kelly had enough.
Malik Zaire entered the contest in relief, making his mark immediately.
The native of Kettering, Ohio completed his first collegiate pass attempt, a 49 yarder to Chris Brown before rushing himself for the 11 yard touchdown, putting the Irish on the scoresheet near the end of the second quarter.
Zaire finished 9-for-20 on 170 yards passing for the Irish, who he led on a second scoring drive when Greg Bryant scampered for a 27 yard rush to the USC 1, finishing the job on the next play.
Bryant led the Irish on 79 yards rushing. William Fuller snagged 5 catches for 75 yards in defeat.
Notre Dame ends their 2014 campaign with four straight losses.
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