As Notre Dame and USC get into heated halftime scrum, ref announces foul on 'UCLA'
The first half of Saturday’s Notre Dame-USC game ended in heated fashion, as the teams got into a large-scale shoving match before heading to the locker rooms.
The scrum began after USC ended the half with a one-yard run. Notre Dame’s Jamir Jones and USC’s Jay Tufele appeared to be at the center of the conflict.
Irish and Trojans getting acquainted at the half. Ref just announced personal fouls on Notre Dame and ... UCLA! pic.twitter.com/PbXsLDzsNZ
— Teddy Greenstein (@TeddyGreenstein) October 13, 2019
Jalen McKenzie and some Notre Dame players started a scrum at halftime. Some Notre Dame players came out of locker room.
Of course the Pac 12 ref called unsportsmanlike conducts on "Notre Dame and UCLA" pic.twitter.com/uXzduKY3wi— Adam Grosbard (@AdamGrosbard) October 13, 2019
Madness ensued at the end of the half. Most of #USC’s players were halfway to the locker room when they noticed a small skirmish and then turned back to join their teammates: pic.twitter.com/ZdYoLiV8bx
— Keely Eure (@keelyismyname) October 13, 2019
Notre Dame was up big at that point, leading USC 17-3 thanks to 196 first-half rushing yards. The shoving was apparently hard enough that USC head coach Clay Helton exited the clash after losing one of his shoes.
The officials assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on both sidelines, essentially meaning that another such offense would result in an ejection for any player. It was actually the second time officials did such a thing on Saturday, as every player on both Texas and Oklahoma were given pregame unsportsmanlike conduct fouls before the Red River Showdown.
Unfortunately, the ref at Notre Dame Stadium erred a bit in penalizing the two teams, announcing the fouls on “Notre Dame and UCLA.”
The 1-5 Bruins, on a bye this week, just cannot win this season.
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