ILS1
10-15-2005, 06:58 PM
Updated: 7:55 p.m. ET Oct. 15, 2005
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and No. 1-ranked Southern California showed Saturday why they are the class of the land, defeating Notre Dame 34-31 in a thriller that vastly exceeded the considerable pregame hype.
Leinart, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, scored on a 1-yard sneak with three seconds left — when nearly the entire stadium expected him to spike the ball — and tailback Bush ran for three touchdowns as the Trojans won their 28th straight game.
In one of the biggest gambles in college football history, USC coach Pete Carroll opted to have Leinart sneak the ball in instead of throwing a quick incompletion and bringing in the field-goal unit to attempt to tie the game and send it into overtime.
But Leinart, after initially being stopped by Notre Dame defenders, spun to his left and surged into the end zone to win it.
The play nearly didn't happen. On the previous play, Leinart fumbled out of bounds after a short run, but the clock didn't stop and instead wound down to 0:00. Fans and players began to stream onto the field, but, after a short discussion by the referees, seven seconds were put back on the clock.
Earlier in the drive, on fourth and nine, Leinart completed a 60-yard pass to Dwayne Jarrett to keep the driving going.
Earlier, Brady Quinn ran for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:04 remaining.
USC tailback Reggie Bush ran for touchdowns of 36, 45 and 9 yards, the last of which gave USC a 28-24 lead. He finished with 149 yards on 13 carries.
Notre Dame took the lead in the second quarter on two long touchdowns, a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzija and a 41-yard punt return by Tom Zbikowski.
D.J. Fitzpatrick made it 24-21 with a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Prior to the game, coach Charlie Weis borrowed a motivational ploy from his days as a Notre Dame student, having the Fighting Irish wear green jerseys.
Just as they did in 1977 when Weis was a senior, the Irish warmed up in their regular home blue jerseys, but came out wearing green to the cheers of the fans. Weis had said that game, when the 11th-ranked Irish beat No. 5 USC 49-19 en route to the national championship, was the one he remembered best from his college days.
Weis was asked this week whether the Irish might wear green, and he said probably not.
“That emotional stuff doesn’t last too long,” he said. “I think we’re going to have to play our best game to have a chance to win.”
It was the first time the Irish wore green jerseys since a 14-7 loss to Boston College in 2001, then-coach Tyrone Willingham’s first loss after eight straight wins to open the season.
Before that, the Irish lost wearing green in a 35-28 loss to Georgia Tech in the 1999 Gator Bowl.
In 1985, the Irish came out in the first half wearing blue against USC and at halftime switched to green in a 37-3 victory.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
USC/Notre Dame Game Story (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9707335/)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and No. 1-ranked Southern California showed Saturday why they are the class of the land, defeating Notre Dame 34-31 in a thriller that vastly exceeded the considerable pregame hype.
Leinart, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, scored on a 1-yard sneak with three seconds left — when nearly the entire stadium expected him to spike the ball — and tailback Bush ran for three touchdowns as the Trojans won their 28th straight game.
In one of the biggest gambles in college football history, USC coach Pete Carroll opted to have Leinart sneak the ball in instead of throwing a quick incompletion and bringing in the field-goal unit to attempt to tie the game and send it into overtime.
But Leinart, after initially being stopped by Notre Dame defenders, spun to his left and surged into the end zone to win it.
The play nearly didn't happen. On the previous play, Leinart fumbled out of bounds after a short run, but the clock didn't stop and instead wound down to 0:00. Fans and players began to stream onto the field, but, after a short discussion by the referees, seven seconds were put back on the clock.
Earlier in the drive, on fourth and nine, Leinart completed a 60-yard pass to Dwayne Jarrett to keep the driving going.
Earlier, Brady Quinn ran for a 9-yard touchdown with 2:04 remaining.
USC tailback Reggie Bush ran for touchdowns of 36, 45 and 9 yards, the last of which gave USC a 28-24 lead. He finished with 149 yards on 13 carries.
Notre Dame took the lead in the second quarter on two long touchdowns, a 32-yard touchdown pass from Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzija and a 41-yard punt return by Tom Zbikowski.
D.J. Fitzpatrick made it 24-21 with a 32-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Prior to the game, coach Charlie Weis borrowed a motivational ploy from his days as a Notre Dame student, having the Fighting Irish wear green jerseys.
Just as they did in 1977 when Weis was a senior, the Irish warmed up in their regular home blue jerseys, but came out wearing green to the cheers of the fans. Weis had said that game, when the 11th-ranked Irish beat No. 5 USC 49-19 en route to the national championship, was the one he remembered best from his college days.
Weis was asked this week whether the Irish might wear green, and he said probably not.
“That emotional stuff doesn’t last too long,” he said. “I think we’re going to have to play our best game to have a chance to win.”
It was the first time the Irish wore green jerseys since a 14-7 loss to Boston College in 2001, then-coach Tyrone Willingham’s first loss after eight straight wins to open the season.
Before that, the Irish lost wearing green in a 35-28 loss to Georgia Tech in the 1999 Gator Bowl.
In 1985, the Irish came out in the first half wearing blue against USC and at halftime switched to green in a 37-3 victory.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
USC/Notre Dame Game Story (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9707335/)