SOUTH BEND, Ind. - About four hours until game time at South Bend, clouds began swirling and toiling above.

They changed from light gray, to a firm gray to a dark blue. The floodgates opened and the rain came down in droves. It only got worse as rain started flying sideways.

In the second half, Notre Dame and USC were nearly deadlocked in a three-point game where one or two plays would swing the game in a certain direction.

These were not exactly the kind of conditions that Notre Dame expected to be in when it set a Notre Dame Stadium rushing record and found what its defense was made of.

Saturday was a day that showed how far Notre Dame has come since that 41-40 heartbreaker loss to Texas A&M. In the torrential rain, the Irish reminded USC where Notre Dame Stadium exits are in a 34-

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