No. 5 Notre Dame clinches College Football Playoff spot with 2 pick-6s in 49-35 win over USC

Christian Gray‘s 99-yard pick-6 with 3:39 remaining clinched No. 5 Notre Dame‘s 49-35 win over USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday. With the victory, the Fighting Irish have locked up a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Trojans were driving toward a potential game-tying touchdown after a 22-yard reception by Duce Robinson and 23-yard run from Quinten Joyner. That put USC on the Irish’s 21-yard line.

Jayden Maiava then looked for Kyron Hudson down the right sideline. But he underthrew his pass while Hudson fell and Gray picked off the throw at the 1-yard line. The sophomore returned the ball 60 yards down the sideline before moving toward the left hash and running to the end zone with four Irish teammates keeping defenders away from him.

On the following possession, USC again drove toward a potential touchdown, moving 62 yards in seven plays. But on four-and-6 from the Notre Dame 13-yard line, Maiava was intercepted again, this time in the end zone by safety Xavier Watts.

The senior ran his pick-6 back 100 yards with no Trojans offensive player coming close to a tackle.

What appeared to be a USC rally began on Ja’Kobi Lane‘s touchdown catch with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. The score cut the Irish’s lead to 35-28. The Trojans’ defense then forced Notre Dame to punt on the next possession, helped by a holding penalty and sack by Jamil Muhammad.

A 60-yard punt from James Rendell pushed USC back to its 16-yard line. However, the Trojans drove 63 yards in five plays before Gray’s fateful interception demolished the chances of a comeback.

Notre Dame’s chances for a place in the College Football Playoff looked uncertain after a shocking upset loss to Northern Illinois in its second game of the season. But the Irish won their next 10 games, including Top 25 victories over Louisville, Navy and Army. And Notre Dame opened its season with a win against Texas A&M, one of the top teams in the SEC.

The Irish were ranked fifth in the latest iteration of the CFP rankings and will presumably move up after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan. Either way, they essentially locked up a home playoff game with the win (they can’t get a bye since they are an independent).