Being a college football fan, I know all about the University of Southern California and it's quarterback Matt Leinart. But I had no idea how good Leinart and his teammates were until this past Saturday when they beat Notre Dame on the last play of the game.
The Man, the Myth, the Legend....Matt Leinart.
USC was down and out with two minutes left. It was third down and forever. Leinart scampered for ten yards or so to make fourth down manigible. What happened in the next few moments is the stuff of legends. On fourth down, Leinart stepped back and looked for wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett.
Hold it right there. Have I mentioned the Trojans haven't lost in over two years? Twenty-seven straight games until Saturday. I have witnessed USC completely maul my Oklahoma Sooners into submission last January in the National Title game. I've seen them come back from a 21-3 halftime deficit to beat Arizona State but nothing compares to what Leinart did on this fourth down on a beautiful fall Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.
So this was the game. Fourth down. Leinart drops back and lays out the most amazing of passes to Jarrett. Jarrett was covered like a glove by an Irish defender, but Leinart's pass was slid perfectly into Jarrett's outstretched hands and off went the wide receiver 61 yards down the field to set up one of the most incredible finishes to a football game anyone has ever seen. Cut to 16 seconds left. USC has the ball on the ND 4 yard line. One timeout left. Leinart runs towards the endzone, jumps for the goal line and is met head on by an Irish defender. Leinart circles in the air and lands on the 1 yard line and time runs out. But wait. The jarring hit Leinart took in the air had knocked the ball out of his hands and out of bounds. That left seven seconds left on the clock.
Leinart then called his own number again. And again, Leinart cemented his position as a legend. The ball was hiked and he went straight up the middle but was hit head on by an Irish defender. He stayed on his feet and bounced to his left and found the endzone...with a little push by Reggie Bush of course. Bush would later say he 'shoved him as hard as he could' because he could see Leinart wasn't going to make it in on his own.
And with that, the Trojans beat Notre Dame 34-31 in one of the best college football games I, or anybody else for that matter, have ever seen. Leinart didn't do this all on his own though. He and Bush are the two best players in the country for a reason. Bush was completely outstanding. He rushed for 160 yards, caught another four passes for 35 more yards and had three touchdowns.
On this October Saturday I finally realized what it means to 'leave it all on the field.' Leinart and Bush both had glazed looks in their eyes at the end of the game. They went through a war on Saturday and came away unscathed. Twenty-eight games in a row and not much standing in their way of another National Title game this coming January.
I told you he was tired and had a glazed look in his eyes. This pic shows it all.
* I have yet to mention what an amazing day of college football Saturday was. Wisconsin, down by 10 with three minutes left, blocked a Minnesota punt with thirty seconds left to beat the Gophers 38-34. Chad Henne and Michigan beat undefeated Penn State 27-25 on a pass to Mario Manningham as time ran out. Ohio State beat Michigan State 35-24. LSU beat Florida 21-17 and West Virginia and UCLA both went to overtime to keep their BCS chances alive. WVU beat Louisville 46-44 and UCLA beat Washington State 44-41.
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