SOUTH BEND (AP) — Xavier Watts intercepted Caleb Williams twice and returned a fumble for a touchdown as No. 21 Notre Dame harassed the Heisman Trophy winner and handed No. 10 Southern California its first loss in a 48-20 victory on Saturday night.

Having lost twice in the three games, the Fighting Irish (6-2) bounced back against their longtime rivals in a big way. Watts had two of Notre Dame’s three first-half picks against Williams and then a 15-yard scoop-and-score with 3:27 left to add an exclamation point.

Benjamin Morrison had Notre Dame’s other interception of the half, leading to Audric Estime’s 1-yard plunge that put Notre Dame ahead 24-3. A week after wiping out a 17-point deficit to beat Arizona in overtime, the Trojans (6-1) had no such comeback in them.

Williams had only been intercepted once, but he was sacked four times by the Fighting Irish and finished with 199 yards passing and a TD.

Averaging 51.8 points per game, USC ended up with five turnovers and was limited to 92 yards rushing. The Fighting Irish racked up 11 tackles for loss.

Williams pulled USC within 31-20 with a seven-yard TD pass to Brenden Rice with 9:04 left in the fourth quarter.

Seconds later, the Notre Dame lead bounced back to 18 points when Jadarian Price returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a score.

USC lost for the fifth consecutive time at Notre Dame Stadium.

THE TAKEAWAY

USC: The defense has taken lots of well-earned criticism, but the offensive line is now also looking like a big issue with several huge games in the Pac-12 still ahead.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish ability to bounce back after a stinging 33-20 loss at Louisville gives Notre Dame momentum heading into the final four games of the season. After a week off, the Irish take on Pittsburgh, Clemson, Wake Forest and Stanford as they try to boost their bowl stock.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

USC feasted on a first-half schedule that included only one team with a winning record, but after the loss at Notre Dame, the Trojans can expect a significant slide in the rankings.

UP NEXT

Southern California: The Trojans jump back into Pac-12 action when they host No. 16 Utah.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish host Pittsburgh on Oct. 28.

Southern Cal	3	3	7	7	—	20
Notre Dame	7	17	7	17	—	48

First Quarter

ND–Payne 4 pass from Hartman (Shrader kick), 11:30.

USC–FG Lynch 25, 1:13.

Second Quarter

ND–FG Shrader 36, 12:19.

ND–Estime 2 run (Shrader kick), 4:14.

ND–Estime 1 run (Shrader kick), 1:30.

USC–FG Lynch 48, :00.

Third Quarter

USC–Lloyd 31 run (Lynch kick), 7:20.

ND–Tyree 46 pass from Hartman (Shrader kick), 3:54.

Fourth Quarter

USC–Rice 7 pass from C.Williams (Lynch kick), 9:04.

ND–Price 99 kickoff return (Shrader kick), 8:50.

ND–FG Shrader 23, 3:40.

ND–Watts 15 fumble return (Shrader kick), 3:27.

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	USC	ND
First downs	22	13
Total Net Yards	302	251
Rushes-yards	37-103	29-125
Passing	199	126
Punt Returns	4-86	1-2
Kickoff Returns	3-46	4-168
Interceptions Ret.	0-0	3-61
Comp-Att-Int	23-37-3	13-20-0
Sacked-Yards Lost	6-44	0-0
Punts	3-50.0	5-45.8
Fumbles-Lost	2-2	0-0
Penalties-Yards	9-75	5-54
Time of Possession	35:45	24:27

—————

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Southern Cal, Lloyd 8-46, Jones 11-27, Za.Branch 2-17, Joyner 2-11, Washington 1-10, C.Williams 13-(minus 8). Notre Dame, Estime 22-95, Faison 1-16, Hartman 1-12, Love 3-6, (Team) 2-(minus 4).

PASSING–Southern Cal, C.Williams 23-37-3-199. Notre Dame, Hartman 13-20-0-126.

RECEIVING–Southern Cal, M.Jackson 6-51, Mar.Williams 5-28, Washington 4-41, Singer 2-22, Rice 2-18, Za.Branch 2-17, McRee 1-21, Lloyd 1-1. Notre Dame, Tyree 2-62, Evans 2-13, Staes 2-10, Faison 2-8, Flores 1-24, Estime 1-4, Payne 1-4, D.Ford 1-1, Price 1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.