Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman remembers the pain of the last time Notre Dame played at USC and he vowed this week to ensure that everyone within his program—including those who were not here for the game two years ago—understand and know of the pain from the 38-27 loss in 2022.

Freeman has lived up to the promise. Clips from the 2022 game at USC are being shown all over the locker room.

“I’ve been watching all the plays,” says Irish wide receiver Beaux Collins who transferred in from Clemson this year. “I almost have them memorized. He does a good job in the team meeting of explaining what that feeling was like a couple of years ago and not letting us forget how big of a game this is.”

Irish quarterback Riley Leonard also was not here for the game two years ago after transferring in from Duke this year but he’s seen the clips around the facility since Sunday and it’s been a point of emphasis when meeting with team leadership.

“In our captains meeting [Monday] with Coach [Freeman], they shared some stories of the game and how they felt after that,” Leonard says. “I kind of know how they feel—I’ve been through a loss with this program—try to keep that pain and I know they are trying to this year and going into this game. I think it should give us a little chip on our shoulder.”

Freeman’s approach in showing clips of the USC defeat is similar to what’s he done over the last two months following the loss to Northern Illinois to remind the program that despite their current winning ways, what is necessary to be done each day to avoid feeling the pain of those types of losses.

Someone who was around when Caleb Williams ran all around the Irish in the win at the Colesium two years ago is Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden.

“I felt it that day,” Golden said of the pain of that loss. “That was about as disappointed as I’ve ever been as a coach. I didn’t do a very good job of getting the guys ready to play that day. We’ve moved forward but at the end of the day, we have to do a better job of preparing and getting the kids ready to play.”

Notre Dame and USC is a 3:30pm kickoff Saturday in Los Angeles on CBS. If the Irish win, they will not only make the College Football Playoff but undoubtedly host a 1st round game. Notre Dame is 10-1 and ranked 5th in the country and would be seeded 7th if the playoffs began today. USC is just 6-5 but the five losses have been by a combined 19 points.