Fighting Irish fans will never forgive the missed call on the “Bush Push”
One of the most infamous plays in Notre Dame’s long history has made an ESPN list of the Top 25 Plays in college football since 2000.
Fighting Irish fans will be dismayed, though not surprised, to see that the “Bush Push” was ranked 14th on the list.
For those lucky enough not to remember, the USC Trojans were visiting South Bend on October 15, 2005, and trailing 31-28 as the final seconds ticked away. USC quarterback Matt Leinart tried to get into the end zone on a QB sneak, and it appeared that the Notre Dame defense held. But Trojans running back Reggie Bush pushed Leinart across the goal line for the game-winning score.
We’ll pause here to note that so doing would’ve been a penalty at the time, but the refs didn’t flag the Trojans. We’ll also pause to go break something in anger.
This was one of those “remember where you were” games — and your author can, indeed, remember where he was when it happened.
Adding insult to injury, the Fighting Irish were No. 9 at the time and trying to compete for the national championship. The Irish, who had already lost once heading into the game, did recover to play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to the Buckeyes. Notre Dame ended with a rank of No. 6.
USC, meanwhile, would go on to play for the national title, losing to Texas 41-38 in a Rose Bowl classic. USC’s 2005 wins were vacated in 2010 when Bush was deemed ineligible. The loss, however, still counts for Notre Dame.
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Source link : https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/fighting-irish/football/2025/06/10/notre-dame-fighting-irish-reggie-bush-usc-bush-push-espn-top-plays-list/84138940007/
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Publish date : 2025-06-10 21:43:00
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