2005 Southern California vs. Notre Dame football game

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=2005 USC vs. Notre Dame football game
Date=October 15, 2005
Year=2005
Visitor School=University of Southern California
Visitor Name Short=USC
Visitor Nickname=Trojans
Visitor Record=5-0
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=1
Visitor Coach=Pete Carroll
Visitor1=14
Visitor2=0
Visitor3=7
Visitor4=13
Visitor Total=34
Home School=University of Notre Dame
Home Name Short=Notre Dame
Home Nickname=Fighting Irish
Home Record=4-1
Home

Home Coaches=9
Home Coach=Charlie Weis
Home1=7
Home2=14
Home3=0
Home4=10
Home Total=31
Type=Regular Season Game
Stadium=Notre Dame Stadium
City=South Bend, IN

The 2005 Southern California vs. Notre Dame football game was a regular season game that took place on October 15, 2005 at Notre Dame Stadium. The game was between perennial rivals, USC and Notre Dame, and was played for the Jeweled Shillelagh. The game was preceded by much pre-game hype, including a visit by College GameDay. The game ended when Reggie Bush pushed quarterback Matt Leinart into the end zone for the winning touchdown.

Background

USC came into the game with a 27-game winning streak, including three wins over Notre Dame by 31 points each. They were also defending national champions and were ranked first in the nation. Notre Dame came into the game ranked 9^th in the nation, having won four road games, but on a three game losing streak at home.

The game was much hyped prior to the start, including some expecting it to be the "game of the century".cite news|author=Wilbon, Michael|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/15/AR2005101501589.html|title=Southern Cal shows its true colors|publisher=The Washington Post|date=October 16, 2005|accessdate=2007-06-25] [cite news|author=Curry, Bill|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=curry_bill&id=2198588|title=Focus the key to victory in big games|publisher=ESPN|date=October 20, 2005|accessdate=2007-09-02] ESPN's College GameDay, which began in 1993 in the last Game of the Century planned to be at the game. [cite web|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101305aad.html|title=Notre Dame welcomes "GameDay"|accessdate=2007-06-25] Finally, the Notre Dame pep rally, with officials expecting large crowds was moved to the stadium and was broadcast nationally on ESPNEWS. [cite web|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/100605aaa.html|title=Football Pep Rally For USC Game Moved To Notre Dame Stadium|accessdate=2007-06-25] [cite web|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/110805aaa.html|title=Notre Dame And Navy Set To Meet For The 79th Consecutive Time|accessdate=2007-06-25] For the rally, Weis asked several Notre Dame legends to speak; they included Tim Brown and Joe Montana along with Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger as the master of ceremonies. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9707335/ One for the ages: USC edges Notre Dame - Notre Dame Central - MSNBC.com ] ]

In the pre-game warm-ups, the Irish wore their regular blue jerseys, however, despite Weis' assurances that he would not use the green jerseys for the game, [cite web|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/100605aae.html|title=Charlie Weis Press Conference Transcript (Oct. 6)|accessdate=2007-06-25] the Irish came out for the game wearing green.

The game

The first quarter began with neither team moving the ball much, before a Brady Quinn interception led to a Reggie Bush 36-yard rushing touchdown. The next Irish drive, which included a fourth down conversion on the Irish half of the field, culminated in a 16-yard rushing touchdown by Travis Thomas to tie the game at 7. Less than a minute later, after a 52-yard pass from Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett that brought the Trojans to the Irish goal-line, LenDale White ran 3-yards for their second touchdown of the day. With both teams punting on their next drives, the first quarter ended with the Trojans leading 14-7.

In the second quarter, Quinn led the Irish on a 72-yard drive that culminated in his 32-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija to tie the game at 14. After a punt by the Trojans on their next possession, Tom Zbikowski returned the ball 40-yards for a touchdown to give the Irish their first lead of the game. Leinart led the Trojans down the field on their next drive on a 69-yard drive, however, his pass was intercepted in the end zone by Irish defender Chinedum Ndukwe to end the drive. Neither team scored for the rest of the half, and the Irish led at halftime 21-14.

As the second half began, the Trojans drove 53-yards before Leinart was intercepted by Mike Richardson on the Irish half of the field. Notre Dame was unable to score, and after a short punt, Bush ran for a 45-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21. On the next Irish drive, after a 26-yard pass to tight end Anthony Fasano to bring the Irish to the Trojans' 25-yard line, Fasano fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Trojans to end the drive. Neither team scored again in the quarter and it ended with the game tied at 21-21.

The fourth quarter scoring began with a 32-yard field goal by D.J. Fitzpatrick to give the Irish the lead of 24-21. USC didn't answer, but on Notre Dame's next drive, Fitzpatrick missed a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead. With five minutes left in the game, Bush finished a Leinart-led 80-yard drive, with a 9-yard touchdown to give the Trojans a 28-24 lead. On the Irish drive, Quinn completed his four passes for 53-yards, Darius Walker ran for 29-yards, and Quinn ran 5-yards for a touchdown, giving the Irish a 31-28 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. On the Trojans' drive, after an incomplete pass, Leinart was sacked for a loss of 10-yards with 1:44 left in the game. Leinart was able to complete a 12-yard pass to Bush to give the Trojans a fourth down and nine situation on their own 26-yard line with only 1:32 left in the game. On his next pass, he completed a 61-yard fade down the sidelines to Jarrett, just over the outstretched arms of Irish cornerback Ambrose Wooden. Jarrett was stopped on the 13-yard line. After two rushes by Bush brought the Trojans to the 2-yard line, Leinart scrambled toward the sideline, where linebacker Corey Mays knocked the ball out of bounds. Although the time was stopped on field, with seven seconds remaining, the timekeeper on the stadium scoreboard let the clock run. When the time ran out, the Notre Dame student section began to rush the field, but were stopped and play resumed with seven seconds shown on the clock. In the last play of the game, sometimes called the "Bush Push" and named one of the greatest college football plays ever [cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0605/gallery.cfbtoplays2/content.15.html|title=College Football Greatest Plays|accessdate=2007-06-25] , Carroll told Leinart to go for the touchdown and not to tie the game and cause overtime. Leinart, opting to keep the ball on the advice of Bush, tried to sneak into the end zone. When he was stopped by a large group of Irish players, however, Bush pushed him into the end zone for the winning score. After an excessive celebration penalty, a missed extra point, and an unsuccessful attempt at a kickoff return, the game ended with the Trojans winning 34-31. [cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?confId=&gameId=252880087|title=USC win streak intact after wild fourth-quarter finish|accessdate=2007-06-25]

The "Bush Push" play

The Bush Push was criticized by some fans claiming that Section 3, Article 2b of the NCAA rule book states that, " [t] he runner shall not grasp a teammate; and no other player of his team shall grasp, push, lift or charge into him to assist him in forward progress." If the penalty had been called, the push would have resulted in a five-yard penalty and another play. However, the penalty is rarely called. When asked about the play, Weis expressed his hope that his running back would do the same in that situation. [cite web|url=http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101705aab.html|title=Charlie Weis Press Conference Transcript (Oct. 17)|accessdate=2007-06-25]

The call of the play

"Lines are set. Leinart sneaks towards the goal line...HE'S IN THE END ZONE! TOUCHDOWN USC!! WITH THREE SECONDS TO GO! The Trojans have scored! With three seconds left, he did not spike it! He went into the end zone! Matt Leinart has scored, and the Trojans will win the ball game!" -- Pete Arbogast on KMPC AM-1540 the Trojans Radio Network.

"USC will get one more play. Leinart gonna try to sneak it ahead. "Did he get it?".....TOUCHDOWN SC!!!" - Tom Hammond and Pat Haden on NBC.Fact|date=June 2007

The aftermath

The game was said to live up to its hype and was the most watched regular season college football game in nine years with 30 million households watching. [cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores105/105288/NCAAF145706.htm|title=USC-Notre Dame most viewed regular-season college game in nine years|accessdate=2007-06-25] The Trojans kept their winning streaks alive and remained first in both national rankings with a 6-0 record. The Irish, having lost four games in a row at Notre Dame Stadium and having a 4-2 record for the season, remained 9^th in the AP Poll and dropped only three places to 12^th in the Coaches Poll. USC would go on to win the rest of its regular season games, and playing in the 2006 Rose Bowl to defend their national championship. However, they would go on to lose to Texas. The Irish also won the rest of their regular season games, accepted a position in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, where they were beaten by Ohio State.

ee also

*2005 NCAA Division I-A football season
*2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
*2005 USC Trojans football team

References

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?confId=&gameId=252880087 Game Recap]
* [http://und.cstv.com Notre Dame Official Athletic Site]
* [http://usctrojans.cstv.com/ USC Official Athletic Site]
* [http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/SkilleZ A Student's Perspective]