USC hopes to play a complete game at home against Stanford

USC showed against Notre Dame that it could block out distractions and play a complete game on the road.

Can the Trojans do the same at home?

USC fans and the rest of the nation will find out Saturday when the Trojans play Stanford at the Coliseum.

USC’s 31-17 victory over unranked Notre Dame propelled the Trojans back into the Associated Press media poll at No. 20 on Sunday.

Stanford’s 65-21 victory over Washington, coupled with losses by Oklahoma and Wisconsin, bumped the Cardinal up to No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 6 in the Bowl Championship Series standings.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on hand as USC attempts to pull off a second consecutive upset.

USC Coach Lane Kiffin said Sunday that he mentioned to his players that “GameDay” was featuring the Stanford matchup and that the Cardinal was a top-5 team.

“Nobody even made a noise,” Kiffin said. “I think they really finally understand it’s not about the hype. It’s about the preparation.”

The Trojans (6-1) were 10-point underdogs against Notre Dame. They are 8½-point underdogs against the Cardinal (7-0), which has defeated opponents by an average of 36 points and has won 15 consecutive games, a streak that started with a 37-35 victory over USC last October. It’s the longest winning streak in major-college football.

Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck, the presumed No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, has completed 72% of his passes and passed for 20 touchdowns, with three interceptions.

“It’s going to be hard to find a more efficient quarterback in the history of college football,” Kiffin said. “The thing that he does maybe more than some of the great throwing quarterbacks is that he can run too. He kind of has the linebacker mentality when he needs to.”

USC quarterback Matt Barkley has completed 68% of his passes. He has passed for 19 touchdowns, with four interceptions.

“He’s doing exactly what we need to win,” Kiffin said.

Barkley also contributed 19 yards rushing against Notre Dame on a night when the Trojans’ offensive line paved the way for 219 overall.

“To establish the running game like that, to have a balanced offense, is really good going into this part of our schedule,” center Khaled Holmes said Saturday.

Kelly reacts

A few USC players were quoted as saying that Notre Dame “quit” by not calling timeouts in the final minutes.

On Sunday, Fighting Irish Coach Brian Kelly said, “I don’t know if that’s the case. To the victors go the spoils. I think we probably would have said the same thing last year. You know, again, how we evaluate our players, we didn’t play the kind of football we wanted to play.”

Kiffin said he was concerned about a comeback and was “shocked” by the Irish’s inaction.

“The game was far from over,” he said. “Obviously, over two minutes left with three timeouts, there’s a lot of football left. But I’m not complaining.”

Kiffin was pleased with how his players responded to a raucous crowd that greeted their arrival at the stadium.

“I’m sure Mass was full [Sunday] morning in South Bend after the things that were said to us,” he said.

Quick hits

Kicker Andre Heidari, who suffered a leg injury on George Atkinson III’s kickoff return for a touchdown, was on crutches Sunday. “Obviously, that’s not very good,” Kiffin said…. Kiffin declined to comment on the status of tailback Dillon Baxter, who did not make the trip to Notre Dame. “When the situation is finalized I’ll give it to you and tell you what it is,” Kiffin said. “Until then, I don’t have anything on it.” Baxter could not be reached for comment …. The flight home after the victory apparently was quiet, Kiffin saying “95% of our players were asleep before we took off.”

gary.klein@latimes.com

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