The battle between Notre Dame and top-ranked USC on Oct. 15, 2005, objectively is remembered as an all-time great college football game. The Irish came agonizingly close to one of the best wins in program history but for Reggie Bush giving Matt Leinart enough of a nudge to score the winning touchdown with only a few seconds remaining.
If the Irish’s defense had been able to hold up just a little bit longer, we could have been talking gigantic shifts in the trajectory of the program and in college football. It is for this reason that, unlike our editor, I cannot bring myself to fondly recall this game.
Thinking about what could have been if one of my teams had just one or two more things go their way is one of the most painful things for me to do as a sports fan. On this night in South Bend, it looked like the Irish had done just enough to pull off the seemingly impossible. At least that’s how it appeared for a moment or two. Instead, Irish fans and Trojans haters were left with empty promises.
This game is one of the biggest what-ifs I’ve experienced for a team I have a rooting interest in. It’s up there with moments like Derrick Rose tearing his ACL, the Bears losing to the Packers in the 2013 season finale, and Alec Martinez scoring in overtime to eliminate the Blackhawks in 2014. I’ll even throw in the numerous near-misses the White Sox had at winning the division in the 2000s and early 2010s.
I’m not taking away anything that this game provided. I’m probably just coming across as a bitter sore loser, but this is a Notre Dame site, and I’m not going to apologize for it. I just so happen to be one of those fans that prefers to remember the good times my teams provide and forget the bad ones. If you’re one of those fans, I advise you to do the same.