Troy on Troy - USC Vs. Notre Dame, The Game is On! Part II

The Game is On!

Part II

Notre Dame and USC are two of the most storied programs in college football, with each school winning 11 national championships and 7 Heisman Trophies, more then any other school. They have combined to produce the most College Football Hall of Famers and NFL Hall of Famers. The series began in 1926 and is considered one of the most important rivalries in college football as well as the greatest inter sectional rivalry of all time.

The winner of the game captures the Jeweled Shillelagh. This is an Irish weapon from days past. Depending on the team that wins, either a gold Trojan head or a silver clover, with the score engraved, is added to the wooden trophy. If either team wins a National Championship or has a Heisman Trophy winner, a ruby stone is added to the eye of the Trojan head or an emerald to the clover.

The series started as a "conversation between the wives" of Notre Dame Head Coach Knute Rockne and USC Athletic Director Gywnn Wilson. As the story goes, the rivalry began with USC looking for a national rival. USC dispatched Wilson and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Notre Dame was playing Nebraska on very cold Thanksgiving Day. On that day (Nebraska 17, Notre Dame 0) Knute Rockne resisted the idea of a home-and-home series with USC because of the travel involved, but Mrs. Wilson was able to persuade Mrs. Rockne that a trip every two years to sunny Southern California was better than one to snowy, hostile Nebraska. Mrs. Rockne spoke to her husband and on December 4, 1926, USC became an annual fixture on Notre Dame’s schedule.

The first few years were memorable. Notre Dame and USC played their first game in 1926, a 13-12 win for the Irish. Rockne was quoted as saying it was the greatest game he ever saw. The following year, Notre Dame and USC would play a memorable game at Soldier Field in Chicago, a slim 7-6 Irish victory. An estimated 120,000 people were in attendance, a crowd that is considered to be one of the largest attended games in NCAA history. USC's first win in the series also came during the same year they won their first national title in 1928. From 1928-1932, USC and Notre Dame combined to win the national title five straight years, with USC winning in 1928, 1931 and 1932, and Notre Dame winning in 1929 and 1930. During this period, there was some talk of canceling the series due to the long amount of travel time it took by train from South Bend to Los Angeles. Rockne argued for the series against the Notre Dame Faculty Board and its chair, Father Mulcaire, countering that "he saw the day coming when most college teams will be going by air exclusively.”

Thank goodness the game has gone on and now, ND leads the series over USC, 42 – 33 with 5 ties. There have been some amazing games but for whatever reasons, I can only remember the USC victories. As Rebecca says, I have selective memory!

My two favorite are the 55 – 24 comeback game where USC was loosing at half time 24 – 6. It would have been 24 – 0 but Anthony Davis caught a 7 yard TD pass from Pat Hayden with just seconds left in the half. AD then ran back the opening kickoff. USC scored 55 unanswered points. ND Head Coach Ara Parseghian resigned following the game and a Trojan moment was created that will last for all time.

And then we have the “Bush Push.” After beating the Irish by 31 points each of the past 3 years, the Trojans came into South Bend to meet Notre Dame and the offensive genius first-year head coach Charlie Weis. The Irish players entered the stadium before the game wearing green jerseys, and put the crowd into frenzy. They only do this for emotional games against USC. This was a tight game throughout; the Irish took the lead with two minutes left on a Brady Quinn touchdown run. The Trojans stormed back after a 4th and 9 pass by Matt Leinart to Dwayne Jarrett that brought the ball inside the ND 15 yard line. As Leinart scrambled and tried to dive into the end zone, he was hit hard short of the goal line, and the ball was knocked out of bounds with 7 seconds to go. However, the clock continued to count down, and after it hit zero, the Irish fans began to storm the field. There was no replay in this game, at the request of Coach Pete Carroll, but after huddling, the officials spotted the ball on the one-yard line and put 7 seconds back on the clock. On the next play, instead of securing a tie that would have resulted in overtime, the Trojan offense surprised the Irish by running the ball. Trojan running back Reggie Bush (allegedly) pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone, but the referees did not make the call. Weis said he would hope his running back would make a play like that in a similar situation. SC won that game 35 – 31.

In 2007, I took Rebecca to see a game at Notre Dame Stadium. She loved it! I don’t think she was as impressed with the 38 – 0 USC victory as I was, but she loved the campus and tradition of the day. When I played there in 1983 and 1985, it was about 30 degrees and snowed both games. On this day, it was 78 degrees and everyone was in shorts. That was a different scenario compared to the USC - Nebraska game we went to just 3 weeks earlier. Same result, USC 3 million, Nebraska 5 or something like that. Both stadiums are amazing and the traditions are over the top. But there is just something about the whole environment at South Bend. The stadium is flanked in one end zone by “Touchdown Jesus.” Literally, a huge mosaic of Jesus with his arms stretched upward signaling another Irish score and our Lord’s eyes subtly smiling at the field. I have always believed that God is a Trojan, but this made me have just a bit of doubt.

I have been there 6 times for games, twice on the field as a player and 4 times as a fan, I am 2 and 4. This Saturday, October 17 at 12:30 PM, two of the greatest football traditions square off at historic Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend Indiana. I won’t be there in body but all of my heart and soul will be with my Trojan brothers putting everything on the line to secure another Trojan victory!

Fight On!

Troy