"It seemed from our sideline and our perspective that they did give up. It seemed uncharacteristic of Notre Dame. I wouldn't have wanted to have been on that sideline."
After the game, USC linebacker Chris Galippo said, "At the end there, when they didn't call those timeouts, they just quit. And that's what Notre Dame football's about. They're not anything like USC."
Facing a third-and-4 at the Notre Dame 9, Southern Cal called time with 2:41 left. After McNeal ran for a first down, USC ran out the clock.
"That's what happens when you beat them down," running back Marc Tyler said Saturday. "We wore them out. They didn't want to play no more. We out-physicaled them and beat them down."
During his Sunday teleconference, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly did not agree that his team wore down defensively but would not engage in a battle of words.
"I don't know if that's the case," Kelly said. "To the victors go the spoils.''
Yesterday, Galippo apologized for his remarks and USC coach Lane Kiffin called Kelly to apologize for Galippo's comments.
Noteworthy *
Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges (Paulsboro, N.J.) was selected Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week after registering 14 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and an interception in a win over Northwestern.
* Louisville cornerback Anthony Conner had surgery after breaking his neck making a tackle against Rutgers Friday night. Coach Charlie Strong said the procedure was performed to "stabilize a cervical fracture" and that Conner "continues to maintain good feeling and movement in all his extremities."
