What is the greatest “What If” in the history of the Notre Dame-USC rivalry?
Nick Shepkowski of Fighting Irish Wire: There are a ton but let’s go to the game that to me is the greatest regular season college football game I’ve ever seen. What happens if Reggie Bush is unable to push Matt Leinart across the goal line back in 2005 and Notre Dame holds on to win that day?
As a result, then 10-1 Notre Dame would have likely gone to the BCS Championship Game against Texas that year and Vince Young’s legend would have grown against the Irish instead of the Trojans while college football fans would have been robbed of perhaps the greatest game of any kind in the history of their sport.
In leading what would have been a game-winning touchdown drive against USC, Brady Quinn would have jumped both Reggie Bush and Vince Young in the Heisman Trophy voting and became the eighth Notre Dame player to win the award.
As a result of leading Notre Dame to an upset of No. 1 USC, a national title berth, and developing a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in Quinn, Charlie Weis is given one more season to get things right and is the head coach in 2010 instead of being fired.
Instead of the craziness that ensues with Lane Kiffin leaving Tennessee for the USC job in late 2009, USC instead hires up-and-coming Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly who helps lead the Trojans on another decade of dominance over Notre Dame while the Irish remained mired in mediocrity by hiring Al Golden ahead of the 2011 season.
Hey, it all could have happened!
Related – The best still images from epic “Bush Push” game in 2005
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