Notre Dame's season has been hurt by injuries.
The Irish lost quarterback Dayne Crist (patellar tendon) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (hamstring) for the season.
Running back Armando Allen's career ended because of a hip injury. He had surgery to repair one of his hips Thursday, coach Brian Kelly said, and another surgery will likely be required.
Nose guard Ian Williams (knee) and slot receiver Theo Riddick (ankle) will be lucky to return for the season finale against USC.
Kelly said there will be a review after the season to try and stem the injuries next season.
"I think that there is a lot of areas that we are going to closely examine at the end of the season to come up with answers," Kelly said. "Instead of saying, 'You know what, just bad luck this year.' That just doesn't cut it.
"We are going to look at all the things that we believe can cut back on the number of injuries that we had."
Another thing Kelly wouldn't mind looking at is the installation of turf in Notre Dame Stadium instead of natural grass. But the coach doesn't sound like he sees that happening anytime soon.
"The offense is such that we like to play fast. I think it is pretty clear that that surface plays very fast," Kelly said. "It is not going to be my decision. I know that I will have my say, and that's all it will be. I want the best for our football players. I want the best for our team and the best for the kind of offense that we run. I know that we've been able to play really fast on those surfaces. Don't know that that is going to be enough to push it over the top. It is more about the kind of team we are putting together."
