The friction started about 45 minutes before kickoff when Notre Dame's Fighting Irish came out of the tunnel onto the playing field where they got into verbal confrontations with the Trojans, who had started their warm-up routines. Coaches and police officers tried to defuse the situation but some players started trading punches and a couple of players appeared to be wrestled to the ground, ESPN reported.

The two teams were eventually herded to their respective sides of the field with 15 police officers straddling the 50-yard line to keep them apart, the sports network said.

Whatever the pre-game jawing, USC made its final statement on the field, winning 38-3 in the 80th meeting between the two schools.