Matt Barkley passed for three touchdowns and USC capitalized on three Notre Dame turnovers, cruising to a 31-17 victory Saturday in the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium since 1990.

Barkley, who sat out last year's meeting with an injury while the Fighting Irish snapped an eight-year losing streak against the Trojans, threw short scoring passes to Randall Telfer and Robert Woods on his team's first two possessions to help build an early 17-0 cushion. He finished the night with 224 yards passing, and USC used an effective ground game (219 yards) to keep the ball away from Notre Dame's explosive but erratic offense.

The Fighting Irish (4-3) twice rallied to within seven points but crippled their comeback hopes with three second-half turnovers. Backup quarterback Dayne Crist fumbled a third-down snap late in the third quarter, and Jawanza Starling picked up the loose ball and dashed 80 yards for a touchdown to put the Trojans (6-1) back in control. A fumbled lateral by Cierre Wood with 8:46 remaining in the final period set up another USC score, and Nickell Robey intercepted a Tommy Rees pass with 6:43 left.

Curtis McNeal rushed for a career-best 118 yards on 24 carries to lead the Trojans, who finished the game with significant edges in time of possession (39:41 to 20:19) and total offense (443 to 267). Notre Dame was held to 41 yards rushing, with 25 of those coming on a fourth-quarter touchdown by Jonas Gray.