LOS ANGELES – For much of the season, top-ranked Notre Dame won with defense and that reliance certainly paid off again Saturday night.

The Fighting Irish forced two turnovers and held USC to just 281 total yards of offense, including 24 in the third quarter, en route to a 22-13 victory over the Trojans in the 84th rendition of the intersectional rivalry at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in front of an announced sellout crowd of 93,607.

Facing quarterback Max Wittek, who was starting his first game in place of Matt Barkley who suffered an shoulder sprain during the Trojans’ prior contest against UCLA, the defensive front pressured the redshirt freshman quarterback, limiting him to just 186 yards on 14-of-23 passing. They also sacked him twice.