Defense plays like Trojans of old

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Two weeks after a crushing home loss to Stanford ended a long unbeaten streak, USC routed Notre Dame in a shutout victory at Notre Dame Stadium.

And then there was Saturday.

While the Trojans’ 38-0 win over the Fighting Irish served up plenty of historical footnotes, it probably wasn’t as momentous as the 19-0 victory in November 1933 that marked the first loss for Notre Dame in the four-year history of its home stadium.

That victory over the Irish 74 years ago helped USC shake off a defeat against Stanford at the Coliseum that had ended the Trojans’ 27-game unbeaten streak. Likewise, USC’s conquest of Notre Dame on Saturday helped soothe the sting of a loss against the Cardinal that ended the Trojans’ 35-game home winning streak.

If there was a similarity between the old Trojans of Ford Palmer and Cotton Warburton and the new Trojans of Lawrence Jackson and Brian Cushing, it was that the defenses ruled the Irish.

USC registered a season-high five sacks and forced three turnovers Saturday en route to its first shutout of Notre Dame since 1998 and its first at Notre Dame Stadium since 1933. That it came against one of the most hopeless offenses in the country didn’t dampen the Trojans’ postgame enthusiasm.

“Just to come out here at a great stadium and pitch a shutout is a great feeling,” said junior linebacker Rey Maualuga, who had two sacks after sitting out practice during the week because of a hip injury. “We did what we came to do.”

The Trojans held Notre Dame to 165 yards -- 48 rushing. The Irish had only four first downs early in the fourth quarter, by which time the game was well out of reach. The Trojans then staved off two late drives in USC territory to preserve the shutout -- the first ending on a fourth-down incompletion and the second on an interception by junior strong safety Kevin Ellison with 41 seconds left.

“We were definitely aware of the shutout and were trying to play the same defense we played the whole game and keep them out of the end zone,” said Ellison, one of only a handful of starters still on the field.

USC’s defense was especially stout early in the third quarter with the Trojans holding a 17-0 advantage. On the Irish’s first play from scrimmage, junior end Kyle Moore and senior nose tackle Sedrick Ellis converged on quarterback Evan Sharpley for a sack. On the next play, junior cornerback Cary Harris stripped the ball from halfback Travis Thomas and senior linebacker Keith Rivers recovered at the Irish 13-yard line.

“We had to let them know from right there that we were going to control this game,” Harris said.

Ellis certainly made his presence known on Notre Dame’s next drive when he sacked Sharpley for an 11-yard loss and then repeatedly flexed his muscles. It was a spirited display that delighted defensive coordinator Nick Holt, whose charges rebounded from a series of uninspiring performances over the previous few weeks.

“They played like they haven’t been playing on defense,” Holt said. “We got a lot more turnovers, made things happen. . . . The kids played their butts off.”

You might say they had the spirit of ’33.

ben.bolch@latimes.com