It seemed if the Trojan Empire had finally been vanquished, and by their arch nemesis no less. 

With just over two minutes to go, Notre Dame regained the lead and looked to have the game well in hand.  The Irish defense had stopped Matt Leinart and the Southern Cal offense, forcing an improbable fourth down and nine. Then in true Heisman fashion, Leinart made the improbable, all too probable for the Irish faithful.

Facing a fourth down and nine from their own 26-yard line with not only the game, but their National Championship hopes on the line, Leinart dropped back in the pocket and hit wide out Dwayne Jarrett for an amazing 61-yard gain.

“Dwayne made a great move on the defensive back and the ball just fit in there perfectly,” Leinart said of the fourth down pass. “He just took off and did the rest. I actually thought I under-threw the ball.”

Then it happened. After two rushes by the incomparable Reggie Bush that had taken the Trojans down to the Notre Dame 2-yard line, Pandemonium set in.  Leinart was forced out of the pocket and tried to scramble for what would be the winning score, only to be stopped at the 1-yard line as time expired.  Or so it seemed for a brief moment. 

“I saw the hit and I saw the ball go flying, Irish safety Tom Zbikowski said. “I got a little excited but it was obviously premature, and I knew another play was coming."

As the replay would show, Leinart fumbled as he was hit at the 1-yard line, giving the Trojans one final opportunity.  An opportunity they would not let slip away.

After the Irish players and their faithful fans realized there was one play remaining and cleared the field, Leinart and company setup for what looked like to be a spike.  Instead Leinart, with help from Bush, twisted and turned as he fell backwards into the end zone giving the Trojans the victory, 34-31, and breaking the hearts of the more than 80,000 in attendance.

“Obviously we're disappointed, but at the end we had a chance to ice the game on special teams, on offense and on defense,” said Weis. “When you have a chance against a team like USC, you better take advantage of it.”

Had Notre Dame capitalized on an earlier field goal attempt by D.J. Fitzpatrick, they would have had an opportunity to force overtime.  Instead they’re left to wonder about what could have been.

“It was a hard fought game on both sides, Notre Dame defensive back Mike Richardson said. “They just made more plays than we did towards the end. There's nothing else more you can do but fight to the end. When it comes down to being that close, your ultimate goal is to win. It really hurts.”

Notre Dame went into the half with a seven point lead, 21-14, and knew full well that they were going to have their hands full in the second half as the Trojans had dominated their opponents in the second half of games this season.

Quinn played as courageous a game as anyone could have asked for, and his performance in the fourth quarter was no exception.  Trailing 24-28 with just over five minutes to go, Brady Quinn came out and thrust himself into the Notre Dame lore. 

Starting from their own 13-yard line, Quinn came out throwing strikes.  The junior signal caller would connect on all four of his passes on the drive.  The first two were to Jeff Samardzija for gains of 18 and 14-yards, then escaping the Trojan blitz to connect with Maurice Stovall for 15-yards. After three consecutive first downs, Quinn would connect on his final pass to tight end Anthony Fasano for six-yards. Darius Walker would then carry the Irish down to the 9-yard line after gains of five, and 20-yards, setting Quinn up for the go ahead score.

“That was what our offense has been doing all year, taking long drives, said Fasano. “We happened to step up at a key point, but we just didn't do enough earlier in the game.”

Notre Dame went toe-to-toe with the Trojans for sixty minutes and took the best that the two-time defending National Champions had to offer. Trailing 14-7 early in the first half, the Irish battled back as it looked like the Trojans were ready to run away with the game at any moment.

Brady Quinn was able to hook up with Jeff Samardzjia for a 32-yard score to even the game at 14-14.  The Irish defense would then go out and hold the Trojans to a rare three and out and help swing the pendulum of momentum in favor of the Irish as Chicago native, Tom Zbikowski took a punt back 60-yards to give the Irish a 21-14 lead. 

For everything the Irish did on Saturday, green jerseys included, Southern Cal always had an answer.  Reggie Bush.

Bush played as advertised, rushing for 160-yards and three touchdowns.  The first time the Trojan scored three rushing touchdowns in a single game in his illustrious Southern Cal career.

“He's a dynamic player,” said Weis. “He's the reincarnation of Marshall Faulk. He can do it all, and he did today. He's a great player.”

Bush got started in the first quarter when he broke a 36-yard scamper for the games opening score.  The Heisman hopeful would then go onto to add his second score on a 45-yard romp that tied the game at, 21-21.  His third would come in the fourth quarter on a nine-yard run that put USC up, 28-24. 

“By far the best victory I have ever been a part of, just for how we won the game,” said Bush. “We never gave up and the world didn't think we were going to win this game. It's just great to win a game like this.”

For the Irish, there is little solace in taking the champs down to the wire. 

“If you're waiting for me to say it was a good loss, you won't hear that here,” said Weis. “Losing is losing, there are no moral victories. What I did tell them was not to hang their heads. That was a slugfest; a street fight. That was a good football game.”

Press Conference quotes courtesy of Notre Dames official athletic site.