SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Southern California handed Notre Dame a beating for the ages.
Mark Sanchez threw four touchdown passes — two on short drives after miscues by the Fighting Irish — and No. 13 USC beat the Fighting Irish 38-0 Saturday, the largest margin of victory for the Trojans’ in the 79-game history of the storied rivalry.
Notre Dame can still claim the most-lopsided victory in the history of the series, a 51-0 win over the Trojans in 1966.
That’s surely little consolation to the Irish and their fans, as Notre Dame trudges through a horrible season. The Irish also lost 38-0 to Michigan earlier this season. The two 38-point losses are tied for the eighth worst losses in Notre Dame history.
Sanchez threw TD passes of 10, 8, 5 and 48 yards and the Trojans won their sixth straight over the Irish, the longest streak for USC against Notre Dame. The Irish won 11 straight from 1983-93.
USC (6-1), coming off three lackluster games — including a stunning 24-23 loss to Stanford — started slowly, but got rolling when a punt by Notre Dame’s Geoff Price struck teammate Munir Prince and USC’s Vincent Joseph recovered at the Irish 10. The Trojans scored on the next play.
The Irish played as ugly as they looked in their throwback green jerseys and yellow pants, dropping to 1-7 for just the second time, matching the 1960 start.
The loss ensures Notre Dame its 13th losing season since it started playing football in 1887, and its fourth losing season since 1999. It also is the fourth straight home loss, tying a school record.
The game was competitive for a while, but the Trojans led 17-0 by halftime and quickly turned the game into a blowout in the second half.
The game was a stark contrast to the classic two years ago when top-ranked USC beat ninth-ranked Notre Dame 34-31 in the closing seconds as the teams traded great plays in the final miuntes.
Other Pac-10 game
Stanford 21, Arizona 20: At Tucson, Ariz., Jeremy Stewart scored on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter as the Cardinal rallied to beat the Wildcats.
It was the second Pac-10 road victory in as many tries for Stanford, which upset then-No. 2 USC in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
Stanford sophomore quarterback Tavita Pritchard improved to 2-1 as a starter, with both wins coming on the road. Pritchard was 19-for-27 for 181 yards and a touchdown, and he threw two interceptions.
Arizona lost for the fifth time in six weeks.
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