Tag: notre dame usc 2005

Bush Push not worth remembering for Notre Dame fans

Why remember this painful memory?

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.

WATCH: My Favorite Notre Dame Football Play, Ever

Quick – what is your absolute favorite play ever in Notre Dame football history?

Quick – what is your absolute favorite play ever in Notre Dame football history?  Heck, if you’re a bigger basketball fan you can share that as well but I’m legit curious as we sit here avoiding contact with each other and trying to pass the time until better days are upon us.

An up-start and top-ten Notre Dame team welcomed defending champion and No. 1 USC to Notre Dame Stadium.  It was the biggest game at Notre Dame in a dozen years and a classic wound up playing out.

A Brady Quinn pass found Jeff Samardzija for a 32 yard touchdown pass to tie things at 14 and Notre Dame’s defense answered the call forcing a three-and-out immediately after.

Then entered Tom Zbikowski:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t89zYrTfJ5w]

Forget for a second how things ended that afternoon and instead remember just that exact moment.  In the dozens of games I’ve been too I’ve never heard it louder, not even when Quinn gave the Irish the lead late in the fourth quarter.

From the Tom Malone punt nearly being blocked initially to Chase Anastasio’s block at the 37-yard line (seriously, go back and watch again and appreciate it) and finally Zbikowski breaking three tackles at the end to finish the return.

Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart and soon-to-be Heisman winner (before it was taken away) Reggie Bush coupled with Pete Carroll and everything USC was at the time, I thought for the life of me that Tom Zbikowski shifted the tide in what was to be a monumental win.

We all know it didn’t end that way and maybe it’s just me looking back at wide-eyed me in my very late teens. For a team I’ve always rooted for but never seen win a championship though, I don’t know if things have gotten much better for me as a Notre Dame fan than at that very moment.

So what’s yours?  Share it on our Facebook page or send us a tweet explaining which play and why, and maybe yours will be chosen for a future post here at FIW.