Welcome to the Solid Verbal.
I'll that for me. I'm a man, I'm forty.
I've heard so many players say, well, I want to be happy. You want to be happy for Dake Edith State.
Is that?
Whoo whoom?
And Dan and Tie.
Welcome back to the Solid Verbal, Boys and girls. My name is Ti hille Brand, joining me as always quarantined over there in New York City, the one and only Dan Rubinstein.
Sir, how are you clean hands? Full nuggets? I guess I'm full of nuggets. I'm not full nuggets, but uh, unlike Notre Dame, can't lose, can't lose. Huh, yeah, that's true. I'm very excited for this show. I am extremely excited for the show. I talked to our pal, Adam Iman from ESPN, who is doing his best over there in Chicago, somebody who's usually on the road. He wants to record like seventeen of these with us. Okay, I'm excited for
this one. Very good. Well, this could be the start of something special.
As you know, as most listening know, something of an odd circumstance in the world at a moment, with a global pandemic, most of us trapped indoors looking for something to do, and we also don't know if there's going to be a college football season. I don't want to look too far in the future, but it is something that is very much on the table. We'll cross that bridge,
will we come to it. But in the meantime, we are caught in this awkward spot where we want to talk college football because people listen for college football, but we just don't have college football to discuss. So perhaps we've been following along on our nightly Instagram live feeds as we've gathered for fifteen to twenty minutes to talk
about whatever moves us. But we came up with the idea to do more of what we did last offseason, which was go back watch an old iconic game and talk about it, do the post mortem, do the oral history, whatever have you. That's what we're going to start doing, perhaps a little bit more of, and we decided that we would start with the illustrious Bush Push game of two thousand and five, USC beating Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium thirty four to thirty one.
It's important and I think we're going to try to do this as often as possible to have an emotional and professional stakeholder on the show. Maybe one, maybe none, maybe both. Today we're starting with both because Ty, you as a longtime Notre Dame fan and attendee, Yes of
this game, you're an emotional stakeholder. And Yogi Roth was an offensive assistant for USC at this time, was sitting like fourteen inches from Lane Kiffen, co offensive coordinator during this game, and he's going to join us later on in the show. I think for some equal time, Ty, equal to No. That's fair. That's fair.
So he was in the booth, like you said, fourteen inches from Lane Kiffen, and I was in Section one oh six, Row three, seat twenty seven.
I checked my ticket.
I still have it laminated over at Mama H's house because it was such a meaningful event for me.
I imagine it had to have been. Let's start. I don't know if you have any housekeeping you want to get into, but I have so many thoughts about this game in two thousand and five, in the early two thousands, with Notre Dame and USC and beyond, I'd like to start getting into the context. The context.
Okay, well, before we get into that context, the context here, subscribe to the show. We are the Soliverbal I'm ty He's Dan. Follow along on Twitter, on Instagram and on Facebook if you want to continue the conversation. Lord knows there are plenty of our ballers who are hold up at the moment. Yeah, want to talk college football. Just want to be amongst friends, want to feel that connectedness. Dan m going out to Soliverbal dot reddit dot com.
That is the subreddit that is commandeered by our good friend Peter Hoffman. So yes, with that being said, Dan, give me, give me the lay of the land.
Here.
In two thousand and five again and Notre Dame USC one of the big matchups perhaps of all time, certainly from a rivalry standpoint it is. But in two thousand and five, what were the atmospherics that kind of built up to this matchup?
Dateline two thousand and five. So this was a top ten matchup. So first and foremost, USC came into this game with a lot more momentum national attention as the number one team in America than Notre Dame did, who sort of crept into the top ten. They started the season as an other's receiving vote. Right, this was not
a hype. Notre Dame team in terms of expectations in year one of the Charlie Weiss era, whereas USC demolishes Oklahoma the year before to win the national championship, they are considered a national champion the year before after their Rose Bowl win, where they're named the AP number one, but not the BCS number one that went to LSU. The end of two thousand and two was very promising.
That was an excit. Carson Palmer to Matt Lionert, even though Linert wasn't super well regarded, there was that transition. The USC was deep in a pretty terrible era in the Paul Hackett era, and then they hire Pete Carroll and slowly but surely the recruiting is incredible. The results slowly but surely reflect the recruiting grades and team rankings whatever, whereas Notre Dame is an unexpected top ten team and
could not have treated you worse. Between the end of the two thousand season and arguably even into the early part of the two thousand and five season, which includes going down thirty eight to seventeen in South Bend to Michigan State, Brady Quinn putting the team on his back, willing them back down twenty one to tie the game with two minutes left, goes to overtime, and then they lose. Then they lose, and that comes also during a time in which they beat the number three team in the country.
I think, what a couple of weeks later, if my memory serves in Michigan, No, they beat Michigan. Michigan was a week before Michigan was a week before. They beat number three Michigan the week before, after beating the ranked pitt Panthers the week before that, so they're on the national radar. They lose to unranked Michigan State at home, but right the ship before USC Brady Quinn has experience as the starting quarterback for Notre Dame, but it's your
one in the Charlie White system as well. And I want to know what the road to oh crap, Notre Dame might be good again look like for you between in the early early oughts, that's what it would be called. Sure, what is that road? What does that roller coaster emotionally look like to you?
Well, emotionally again as a Notre Dame fan between us, I was very uncertain about this. Right Ty Willingham the era that he kind of ushered In had a really good first year. I didn't really think it was totally valid, Like, it just felt like so much of that team was built on defense.
The offense kind of stank, and they were able to do it.
They were able to win a bunch of games, but it just it never felt like this was a legitimate, contending kind of team. And so obviously the next two years of Willingham didn't go well to now step into the Charlie Weiss era, I didn't quite know what to think.
Now.
I was a proponent of them hiring Charlie Weiss. I liked the move, sure, and you know, it was a breath of fresh air. This is a guy who's got some offense on his resume. Presumably he's going to come in there, he's going to reboot the offense. And he did, as we'll talk about. I'm sure reboot the offense. This is a top ten offense throughout the course of the two thousand and five season. But honestly, I sort of didn't know how to feel. This is a program that
had been down for a while. They won a national championship in the late eighties. They were really good in the early to mid nineties under.
Holt, but great run. Yeah, But towards the end.
Of the millennium as we got into the aughts, as you say, yeah, the program was not quite where you'd want it to be as a fan. So I was just very uncertain about the whole thing.
Yeah, the Bob Davey era was. I was trying to think of a nickname for him, and the best thing I could come up with was Bolish Bob, because those Notre Dame teams they're bolish, They're always in balls, but they were bowlish. You skipped over one amazing nugget of that era. I mean there are many amazing nuggets in that era. As somebody who enjoys college football chaos. Notre Dame hired Georgio Leary to replace Bob Davy in two
thousand and one. He had a cup of coffee. There were some discrepancies on his resume and he never wound up coaching at Notre Dame. So then they moved on to Ty Willingham, who won his first two games as the Irish head coach without Notre Dame scoring an offensive touchdown facts which you know, it's if you can do it, good on you. So then they hired Charlie Wise, who
it seems like this is this is a pro move. Literally, this is hiring a pro a guy from the Patriots who had worked with Tom Brady and the Super Bowl winner and is a Notre Dame guy, And this is Notre Dame stepping up to the plate to stop fooling around with guys who are not to the caliber of what Notre Dame perceives itself to be. And pretty early on it looks promising.
It looked extremely promising. And they had this stud quarterback in Brady Quinn. As I'm sure we'll discuss here as we go a little bit further into the game. They had big targets for him. They had a serviceable running game that they actually lead on very heavily throughout the course of the year. They ran the ball about forty times. In this game that we're going to talk about, they ran it fifty two times. So, you know, Charlie Weiss, I thought, from a very high level, did a pretty
good job balancing the offense. He knew how to try and use the personnel that he had to great affect, and so that was good. That aspect of it was good. He did come in and made a very positive impact. The ability to sustain that success moving forward is ultimately what did him in. He had a very successful campaign
in year one, diminishing returns thereafter. Was never quite able to build in the trenches, never quite able to maintain on the defensive side or build up on the defensive side the way we would have hoped, and that ultimately led to his undoing. But at least out of the shoot. Yeah, for Charlie Weiss in year one, it was very promising. Yeah, and we'll get to the PostScript. We will, I promise.
What I would also like to add, because we talked about Notre Dame early on that season, USC starts the season number one, they end the regular season number one. That's the USC Texas here of course. Well, they are one and two all season long. They dropped sixty three in a huge win against Hawaii in the Islands, and then just absolutely demolish Arkansas. They had a home and home. I believe with Arkansas, he dropped a buck twenty company, just killed them. Yeah, and I believe that two thousand
and six Arkansas team was pretty good. That was a Dearren McFadden, Felix Jones Peyton hillis team good defense too. They fell down early to Oregon, but came back and stomped the Ducks in Eugene. I was trying to remember if I was at that game. For some reason, I think I was probably back.
Well.
I had graduated that summer, so I would have been returning to Eugene. I think I might have been a huge comeback. They go down eighteen at halftime to ASU in Tempe. USC wins their four and oh on the road in their first six games, which is a pretty incredible split. But they come back and they win that game thirty eight to twenty eight. And this is Reggie
Bush and Lendell White really coming into their own. And then later on in the Arizona game the following week after ASU, and this is the week before Notre Dame, they eventually run away from an Arizona team. Shout out Richard Kovalceek. That's right, shout out that Arizona team. But
so it wasn't there. There were some scares, there were some moments of hesitation I think from USC, especially early on in games, but ultimately their talent and their ability and the depth that they had built up one out and this was number one against number nine, and obviously your favorite part of the lead up to this game that week was a very specific story about Notre Dame's preparation.
Notre dames preparation, Yeah, grew the hell out of what tie the grass, Dan. So let me provide further context. I was at this game at the times. This is two thousand and five. If you want to know more about what I was doing in two thousand and five, go back and listen to the history of the soliverbal Show. But ye, my connection to actually get tickets to this game is among dabbling with some early rendition of what
is now known as podcasting. I was also doing a lot of live streaming audio streaming, not twitch or YouTube or anything like that. I was helping some others in the college football community get some of their own streams up and running, and among them was a good friend of mine from Notre Dame who was able to hook me up with tickets.
Nice did look at.
Me like I had two heads when I brought my friend Kurt along, who's a die hard USC fan, wore is Keith Rivers jersey to the game. But we were there, we were in attendance, and we come walking into this beautiful stadium, Notre Dame Stadium. You look down on the field and it looks like it looks like a cow pasture. It looks as if they have not cut this in three to four state tailgate. Isn't that what the outside of Beaver Stadium looks like? Are there multiple pastures? There
are multiple pastures to say the least. Yeah, So it was like, what the hell is this? And like so much in the Charlie Weiss ara, and we talked about this a little bit on the Instagram feed, Like so much of the Charlie Weiss era, it was like, Okay, this could be clever, or this could be really overthought right, and you just don't know where to come down on it. That in many ways was kind of a synopsis of the Weiss era. But they grow the grass out. It's
very apparent as you're watching the broadcast. I didn't hear if they referenced it. I'm sure they did throughout the broadcast that we watched, but certainly in person it was it was flowing. It was every bit as flowing as Jeff Somarge's hair, and you know, obviously didn't have that much of an impact. But it was very noticeable, and
it is the kind of thing that you saw. And I was like, all right, like I need to kick the tires a little bit more on who made this call, why they decided to do it, and you know what they thought they were going to gain out of doing this.
Were you drunk? How much were you tailgating? This is probably what you're two years out of college. No, I wasn't at all. You weren't at all drunk. You were focused. I was very focused, like a fighter the night before a huge fight. No, I was.
I was laser focused and actually, in my younger and more immature days, quite nervous about this game. Okay, So I didn't want to upset the tummy too much.
Okay, fair enough, And there is something important and I don't know what your stance was. And we'll get into this when we talk about the very beginning of the game itself, which will momentarily. There was some I think it's just among Notre Dame fans more so than it is college football fans, but early on in the broadcast when Notre Dame runs out of the tunnel, there was shock, awe, bewilderment, excitement, borderline horniness about noted the color of Notre Dame's jerseys.
Oh no, don't start, don't start with this. Was that a thing the week leading up? Where there message board rumors, because I'm positive message boards existed in two thousand and five, while they're murmurings of Charlie Weiss.
Charlie Weiss had notably said that he wasn't going to do the green jersey thing, right, and then he decided, as you find out on the broadcast, he decided two weeks before the game that it was something that they wanted to do. And as Tom Hammond had to point out, it was his duty to point out as the lead comment on the game, Notre Dame at that point was something like oh and three wearing the jerseys, but three
and zero against USC. Right, they had lost their last three overall, but had won their last three against USC wearing the green jersey. I'll have you know that when I saw them come out of the tunnel, I didn't know in the build up to this game that they were going to go green jerseys.
Oh okay, no rumors that you saw.
Okay, in my younger again, more immature days. I'm in the stands. I'm watching this, everyone's all jazzed up for Notre Dame to run out of the tunnel. They run out of the tunnel. I am audibly screaming no from section one oh three wherever I was. Because they had the green jerseys on it, I knew, at least I felt that it was some sort of bad home and now you wouldn't know that to hear Tom Hammon. Tom Hammond went crazy like Susan Walman went crazy.
When and that was that was my comparison. Yeah, he went from twelve to six.
When Roger Clemens signed the Yankees, the way Susan Walman reacted, that was what Tom Hammond did. And even to watch it back. Now, keep in mind I had never actually seen this broadcast. I saw the game live, never had the heart to go back and watch it in its totality. All these cheap little jokes like, oh, those green jerseys look so.
Good in HD. Whatever, Tom whatever. I don't think my stream was an HD. I don't think my YouTube ufload that I watched with soft, which I'm actually glad you mentioned, because I don't know when all of the networks broadcast all of their games, or most of their games, or some of their games in HD. But it wasn't long before this.
No, Well, and hey, listen back to the broadcast. Yeah, I'll tell you one thing that doesn't hold up over time, old tech jokes. Tech jokes don't hold up because tech changes from year to year. So in this broadcast, especially a lot of quips about high definition television, like Pat Hayden telling Tom Hammond, I think you even sound better in HD.
Tom, stuff like that to give you an even better idea of what two thousand and five was like on screen. By the way, I haven't seen any of the top ten movies that weekend. The Fog, Wallace and Grommet and Elizabethtown were your top three. I know a history of violence people still watch. There's I think a Wiener involved in that. One. Great top ten music wise Billboard Wise Gold Digger number one song, the ten Sugar. We're going
down number ten. Oh wow, you got some David Banner, You've got two Mariah Carey songs, and I'm obviously nickel Back's photograph checking in at number three. Sure, all of the top TV shows this week in America feel like they're still on or we're on three years ago. There's a couple csis Gray's Anatomy Their Survivor sixty minutes, two and a half men. I don't think is on anymore, but was somewhat recently. I think Law and Order, the Astros beat the Or got demolished by the White Sox. Right,
Avian flu was a thing. The NHL returned after their lockout and the Coleberr Report started. This is a long time ago. It doesn't feel so long because Matt Lioner and Brady Quinn and Reggie Bush are still in our lives, still on our four K TVs. It's a long ass time ago.
Ty.
Can I talk about something else, please, pertaining to the broadcast? Yeah, I want to talk about the old Notre Dame on NBC intro score Ty.
Even before that, though, do you know what the first words of the broadcast I watched were? And like the most stereotypical Notre Dame, like tropy, nonsense, The year was nineteen twenties six. I'm not Yeah, I think we watched exaggeration. They went through the history of it, and when they're taking the train out to la and it was the year is nineteen twenty seven. Nod Rockney's wife told them to do it.
Yeah, Yeah, I watched it too, Blas. Yeah, I want the oral history on how NBC came up with that old intro score, because again, not to go too much back to the live feed that people probably can't access anymore. But we did do a chat on Instagram where we talked about the early days of Notre Dame on NBC and how one of the complaints from non Notre Dame fans, even some Notre Dame fans, was that it was a little too homery.
Like watching the game on Notre Dame dot edu, the Notre Dame network.
Yeah, and it's like they didn't want to be too over the top, but they wanted to get Notre Dame fans fired up.
Sure, so they just borrowed like three and a.
Half notes from the Notre Dame fight song and they blended it in with the rest of the music, so it wasn't too over the top. But then then it's like they listened back and they're like, we need to make people feel dangerous again. We need to make this older fan base feel dangerous. Yeah, And it's at that point, Dan that I can only imagine they made some guitarist's career and said, can you add a little bit.
Of dream theater there?
Can give me just a little bit of a guitar riff, maybe a little California dreams tie just they borrowed the t NBC band. Just a little bit of just a little riff for me here, and that's how you get this.
Wait for it, wait for it, Just wait a little longer. Here we go. Oh God, way up the fret horn.
I gotta play it one more time. Just listen to this, please. Some guy got really into this girations.
I'm sure it's probably the John tash Nick Saban guitar. It could be. Here we go, here we go, listen to that. It has to be.
They don't use that anymore. They can't. Somewhere in the rock and roll Hall of Fame.
Dan hold on, do we think this is Tesh? It could be, Well, he did NBC NBA on NBC his it was I think what Entertainment Tonight was syndicated. No, he definitely has an NBC Sports connection with musical intros. True. I think there's at least a thirty five percent chance it's Tesh and Tesh's band. There is a non zero chance that that's Tosh. Yeah, I think it's a robust chance. I'm looking this up now, but yeah, it's it's killer.
They really went for it with that intro, and I totally forgot about it, to say the least. But it set the stage for every Notre Dame game, and this is a big one to watch it back. I mean, everyone was fired up. Tom Hammond sounded a little more pre programmed than usual, which was a welcome edition. It's been a while since I've had Tom Hammond in my life. And you know, we're going to talk a little bit more about the game here momentarily when we bring Yogi on.
He's actually part of the coaching element of this game, so he can give us a little bit more detail than you know, maybe I could from the stands, or you could from your television. But certainly a great game, an awesome fourth quarter thirty four to thirty one was the final here. USC needed some heroics in the final two minutes to pull this one out, a long pass to Dwayne Jarrett which happened right in front of me.
The Bush push, obviously a controversial moment in the history of college football, but nonetheless one that extended USC's winning streak at the time. It was twenty seven extended to twenty eight, and we know where it played out from there obviously played out in Pasadena. One of the all time great college football championship games, just college football games in general, roll between USC and Texas.
Texas won that game to win the national championship. I have breaking.
News, breaking news.
She was Tesh. I can I confirmed it. John Tesh did college football and NBC parenthetically Notre Dame football. Oh God, that cheapens it. Oh, I think it makes it so much better. That was freaking Tesh. Are you kidding? Almost assuredly that was Nick saving guitarist.
Damn hell yeah, that is some research here, that's off season research.
That's Wikipedia, baby, that was Tesh. Yeah, that was Tesh. Get the hell out. Okay, yeah, now we know breaking news.
That's perfect, no problem, all right, So do you want to get into this actual game. Let's talk about the actual football Let's let's talk about the actual football game.
Dan went back.
I was able to find something on YouTube. It sounds like it was the same clip, and I came away I think impressed by what I saw from Notre Dame and this.
You have a surprise tone to your voice.
Well, I do, because Notre Dame's defense was I think the big liability going into this football game. They were certainly not the best against the run. They were even worse against the pass, and that was a problem against USC because they got Reggie Bush who was in the midst of his own Heisman campaign. You've got Matt Liner, who already won one, and it's you got to pick your poison. Notre Dame, I thought, did a really good job with its front seven getting some pressure against a
really good offensive line. Had a lot of future pros in that offensive line. They did a good job bringing pressure against Matt Liner. They did enough to kind of keep the offense in it and when the offense had the ball, I actually thought their game plan was pretty clever. They tried to milk the crap out of the clock. They overwhelmed USC when it came to time of possession. They just tried to keep that sc offense off the field, and as a result, the sc offense didn't get nearly
their normal amount of offense in terms of yards. I think they were what six oh one in average offensive output, right, They didn't get anywhere close to that in this football game because Notre Dame just kept them off the field, so at least to that extent, I felt like, even though I wasn't privy to any coaching stuff, I felt as if the game plan was effective and they were able to keep themselves in the game until you know, the last however many seconds.
Yeah, usc, I don't think they didn't get to five hundred yards, but they were still pretty efficient thanks to some bigger plays. And they both came out pretty slow, which is understandable in a huge game. The flow was was pretty uneven, I would say watching this game, Notre Dame started out really cold, but they had a couple of chunk plays. The probably the best offensive play of the game in terms of just steely confidence, Brady Quinn to Jeff Samarga for a touchdown sort of a jump ball,
the perfect read, a great throw, a great catch. But in terms of what Notre Dame was actually able to do, this was not an efficient Notre Dame offense. No, they just sort of had a game plan to nickel and dime and hope for the best, and they sort of had a number of points. I guess both quarterbacks tried to give the game away. They both had two bad interceptions, one of which was I think one or both of Brady Quinn's were tipped. It was a tipped flea flicker.
I believe that Keith Rivers ended up interception and intercepting sort of floating down in the middle of the field. But I came away surprised that both quarterbacks were more underwhelming than I remembered. Yeah, I loved Matt Liner, and I remember being so impressed with Brady Quinn thinking, oh, this guy's both the guys are sure thing pro success stories. Yep. Yeah.
And it turns out, and I guess smartly for both of these teams, they just sort of got the ball to some talented guys and made smart decisions and won close games more often than not, USC blowing out more teams,
certainly the better program around this time. But for what Notre Dame did for them to be in this game, I thought was all on the back of Brady Quinn, good and bad like he really he in the offensive line, I would say they struggled with USC pressure pretty much the entire game until the end when USC started sending
extra guys. He really took a lot of abuse, but he was also the guy who gutted out essentially the comeback after a nothing second half offensively from Notre Dame in terms of scoring points.
No, it's one hundred percent true, and I believe it was either Pat Hayden or Tom Hammond. One of the bouncers referred to him as all day tough Brady Quinn, right, and.
You're absolutely right. I mean it.
So much of this came down to him. He was tight early in that game, and his deep ball left a lot to be desired. But as the game wore on, and certainly on that last drive when he scampered in for a touchdown, he was three of three, made some big throws. I wonder why, in hindsight they didn't just
lob every pass up to Jeff Samarja. I was wondering the same thing, Ty, you know, like Jeff Samarja watching back, I guess I didn't appreciate him in the moment the way I feel like I did yesterday when I watched the game, like he was so good. He was so much bigger than anyone trying to cover him. He caught every ball with his hands, and he was just a
beast to try and man up. They had such a matchup disadvantage not just with him, but with Maurice Stoveall who was also six y five, wasn't nearly the caliber the receiver but had justin marsh that season though, but had really big games, had a good year. And also Anthony Fasano Anthony Fasano, NFL tight end, also six', five had a huge fumble late in the third quarter in this, game which had he not fumbled and Had Notre dame gotten some, points perhaps this outcome would have been a
little bit. Different but between those three guys like there aren't a whole lot of college, programs maybe not EVEN, usc who can cover three high caliber players who are six to.
Five the counterpoint, is if the philosophy is milk the, clock if you're throwing incomplete passes and they're, not, yeah sure they're not moving the ball before those incomplete, passes you're giving the ball back pretty. Quickly and that THAT usc offensive, line even with as good as THE us The Notre dame defensive, front looked in that game and pretty much all you is a Good Notre dame, defense
you're changing the tenor of that. Game SO i would have thought that they would have CHALLENGED, usc especially because outside Of Darnell bing this was not a particularly GOOD usc, secondary you, know all things, considered compared TO i guess OTHER usc secondaries during this. Era but this was as we Saw vince youngdu late in the, year as we
saw a number of quarterbacks do this. Season they were, vulnerable and the problem Was Brady quinn's LINE i don't think could protect him long enough to go through progressions and go. Downfield because even sending, five there were you, KNOW usc was putting out corner, blitzes they were rushing a, linebacker they were doing you, know double a gap. Blitzes he just didn't have the. Time SO i get, IT
i suppose from The Notre dame. Perspective BUT i was watching this game AND i was, Like Notre dame has a single dude on. Offense all all due respect to a Gutty Brady, quinn what's the running? Back they had two running Back Varius walker And Travis. Thomas, yeah and respect To Maury stovall And Anthony. Fasano there were good players across His Notre dame. Offense the one dude Was samarsha AND i was surprised they didn't more successfully get
the ball to him and he had a big. Game, yeah oh, Yeah but REALLY i was surprised That Notre dame went with so, many you, know jumbo, packages essentially putting seven eight guys on the line of scrimmage and trying to uh to gut out three four yards at a.
Time and let's be, Clear samarja had fifteen touchdowns that year and over twelve hundred yards, receiving could have.
Very easily been AN nfl.
Receiver instead went to play, baseball where he made one hundred and twenty two million.
Dollars so he's pretty.
Good you could say he chose wisely from a financial, standpoint and you, know it's been a good picture. There we won't go into his baseball, accolades but that on the, rewatch it was a lot of, short high percentage. Stuff they were trying to keep the clock. Moving it was clear that that was part of the game. Plan maybe not the primary game, plan but a part of.
It for.
SURE i would have loved to have seen a little bit More jeff samarj just lob it up to. Him even if it's not the best, throw he was good enough to go up and get.
It two. Time blitnikoff Finalist Jeff Samarja Brady quinn with an unbelievable ability to throw a pass nearly straight up when Going he threw a fade from like the twelve yard line that may have gone forty five yards up directly at the.
Air, yeah directly put it like A harrier, jet directly.
Up it went. Like the ability for him to put as little touch on the ball as possible was impressive in its own. Way who are the dudes on the other side of the, ball either For Notre dame on defense or FOR usc in?
General to, you, well do we want to talk About Reggie? BUSH i think we should talk ABOUT i think it is so clear on the rewatch that the best player on the field Is Reggie. Bush AND i, know, like if you're listening to this, now you're, thinking, well obviously He's Reggie. Bush but to go back and rewatch, This Reggie bush is so good in this football. Game it's it's abundantly clear that there's no one else in the field even remotely.
Close. Yeah the fact THAT usc was thought of to be creative on offense with the way they Used Reggie, bush and you actually watched the game with twenty twenty, eyes and there's just a lot Of, YEAH i, guess but why not much? More why not much? More Reggie? Bush why aren't there all sorts of little flare. Screens why isn't he going out for routes with linebackers on him all the, time or safeties, Whatever why isn't, he you,
know just a thread on every? Play and they RAN usc, themselves ran a lot of, six, seven eight guys on the line and with the full, back And Matt linert made an all time terrible throw to what he thought was a wide open wheel route to a full back and through just the easiest interception perhaps in the history Of Notre dame. Football but it was surprising they had a reverse for him, late they had some screen action for, him but it was so abundantly clear that just this
should have Been Jeff samarja Versus Reggie. Bush AND i think it missed the mark on what it could have. Been but that's twenty twenty, eyes, ty that is one hundred percent twenty twenty. Eyes on, Defense darnell bing was everywhere FOR. Usc Keith rivers really. GOOD i think he had a recovered, fumble he had the, Interception there was a defensive. LINEMAN i think he was number ninety. EIGHT i don't have the roster in front of me For Notre dame who had the sack On Matt lioner after
being knocked down by an offensive. Lineman do you know What i'm talking? About, yeah like two plays before The Dwayne jarrett play right the, game he Sacks Matt lionerd on like USC's nine yard. Line is That Derek? Landry maybe it could have. BEEN i don't, KNOW i don't have the. Roster i'll go back and. Check, yeah, yeah that Was that was a dude. Play that was a dude effort that should have won the game essentially For Notre.
Dame unfortunately For irish fans it. Didn't BUT i came away surprised THAT i also again Thought Matt lionert And Brady quinn were, better AND i know there were other games where they were definitely, Better AND i know they were both playing against tough, defenses AND i know that they're not playing in modern versions of the. Spread they did not have any arm.
Talent Trevor Trevor, Laws Trevor, laws there you, Are Trevor.
Laws they. Missed both of these teams missed a lot that was given to. Them that was. There be it, drops be it. OVERTHROWS i was surprised that two guys who were taken in the first, round who were for the most part rightfully, lauded they missed a.
Lot, yeah game, well and, hey both teams really both.
Teams, Hell i'm saying Both lionard And Brady.
Quinn both both teams had plenty of chances to win that football. Game and you know only one, did but both of, them for. Sure it was out. There there were a bunch of opportunities that were left on the, table and it's part of what makes this game one of the greats because it was so, dead even the whole way through was. Dead even it was back and forth right down to the final. Wire you're just a mess in the, stands, right an absolute mess in the. Stands and not to mention that when you're in the
stands at a football. Game Notre Dame, stadium at least at the, time was not the easiest stadium in which to stay informed because they didn't have like the electronics were just not on the level of other stadium. Right it's not Like Beaver stadium where you've got a massive board that you can look at, like, no It's Notre dame. Stadium it still had that, old crappy. Scoreboard you have no idea what's going.
On you can't. See we didn't have the greatest seats in the. World they were.
Good we were in the, stadium we were happy to be, there but we didn't know that final. Sequence we had no idea what was going. On it wasn't until after the fact that we saw the highlights we actually understood the sequencing and how things broke. Down but, no you just didn't. Know and because of, that it was very emotional in the, stands a lot of high, fives a
lot of curse words being yelled, out even In Notre Dame. Stadium, yes and truly one of the greatest Experiences i've had just as a sports, fan being in that stadium trying to decipher what the hell is going. On should also Mention Tom's, Abkowski absolute. Dude Tom's ibkowski played out of his mind in that. Game he ran back a punt.
Yep he was got beat a couple, times but never for touchdown like he was BEAT i think By Steve smith on a play action. Play but they were able to make the play was not a house, call just knew the right.
Angles, yeah play played really gritty in that football. Game Ambrose Wooden.
Wes welker, type Gritty Wes, welker.
Gritty West What, Yeah Ambrose, wooden who was the CORNER i believe got beat By Dwayne jarrett on that notable pass play on the final.
Sequence there.
Had a bunch of big plays leading up to that, moment you, know where he would track a guy down from behind and prevent a scoring play or.
Something they stuck with the receivers really. WELL i don't know if that was, unexpected but The Notre dame SECONDARY i thought did an admirable job.
One hundred and fifth in passing yards allowed per. Game that, defense and to go toe to toe WITH usc the way they, DID i you, KNOW usc had big chunk, plays as you said, earlier and they certainly were the better, team the more talented team out. There But Notre dame's defense should just. Enough they did enough to kind of keep that game. Close and if not for that final incredible drive BY, usc they would have.
Won, Yeah and if not for the final drive For Notre, dame they would have lost bigger because that was winning. TIME i don't know if it was A Brady quinn fourth quarter comeback type thing mentality in his, head but the drive he put, TOGETHER i think he had like three or four passes that went for over fifteen yards leading up to the fourth quarter or that final drive For Notre, dame and then it was just stick after
stick after. Stick and there was the one player where he was running to his left and sort of threw it at the last second he lobbed it over A usc player to complete a first. Down that was an incredible. Play there was a lot of what ifs in the, game as there are in many big games and even little.
GAMES i came, AWAY i think just impressed with what that fourth quarter was that overshadowed the rest of everything to ME i. Had And i've voiced some negative thoughts about some of the stall drives and sort of what seems through twenty twenty eyes Of tuce play calling and just architecture of the, offense which isn't fair to that. Time BUT i got in the, rewatch and we can
talk about the broadcast itself. HERE i was eighty six percent as excited AS i was WHEN i didn't know what was going to, happen and that's a testament to how great that ending. Was it was a really good. Ending, yeah the fourth quarter is up there up here with still. Best does that game in some part of your brain remain in protest because of technically illegal push at the end of the, Game.
No, no it doesn't because it for as close as the game was and first time.
Illegal.
Yeah, Yeah and, sure for as many chances AS i Felt Notre dame, had it didn't have to come down to that.
Play, no they had.
OPPORTUNITIES i mentioned The fasano, fumble but there were. Others there were other plays that were out there And Notre dame wasn't able to take. Advantage so you, know it shouldn't have come down to that play to begin. With and let's be, Honest Notre dame was ninth going into that.
GAME usc was.
Number one and riding a huge winning streak twenty seven. Games, yeah anything just to be close to me felt like. GRAVY i didn't expect That Notre dame was going to win that, game SO i think it was a little easier to, reconcile just for me as a, fan, again knowing that this was still probably a much more talented. Team it didn't feel good knowing That Notre dame lost to, him but at the same, time it wasn't in. PROTEST i still felt LIKE usc was the better of the two. TEAMS i did like That Notre.
Dame there is a section Of Notre dame's playbook that was probably labeled different kinds of sneaks for a different. Situation Brady quinn ran the ball thirteen times in this. Game they they he. Did they had like a third and four from their own twenty and they did like a quick sneak and then they went for it on fourth and one from their own like twenty four for the first down ballsy stupid works, right it was he. Stupid they were. Running they were Running Brady quinn on
a number of third. Downs AND i don't know if that was a lack of confidence in his arm or the offensive line or receivers getting open quickly enough against THE usc. Defense but, yeah he had like this this weird fake slant and then he would take. Off he would sort of tuck and that that converted like a third and. Five, yeah it. Was there was a definite element to this game plan that Involved Brady quinn tucks it or pushes the line forward as best as he.
Can, yeah like maybe they saw something where the line was over committeeing and they tried to take advantage of that in short yardage.
SITUATIONS i don't, know but.
For sure like they were just with the running game in. General, Again Notre dame ran the ball fifty two times here two point nine yards per, carry so not at all. Efficient but if you watched each play in a, vacuum and if you were not able to connect it to the larger game, plan which AGAIN i think was to try and drain the clock against a better, offense keep them off the, field you could have convinced yourself that this was a video game Where Charlie wise was just trying to run the.
Ball as much as.
Possible, yes you, know like it didn't feel all that, balanced at least not early on in this. Game watching the way that he called the, game it was.
A SimCity of a game plan built entirely out of modest residential. Housing. Exactly, YEAH i need the adage That Bill connelly A espn just in terms of what metric wins you the most, Games and you, know people point to turn over, margin and that's certainly one of the best ways to win a game by winning the turnover, margin but generating and stopping explosive plays is the metric that he has found most likely determines the outcome of a. Game IN usc won that.
Metric so what was your general takeaway from watching this game now fifteen years? Later it both played out faster and slower because of no attempt at tempo and running as many plays as humanly, possible not throwing as many passes as probably either program would if it were twenty, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen nineteen, twenty the number of jumbo sets that both of these teams, ran considering they had quarterbacks who were,
very very successful with very very good. RECEIVERS i was surprised at, HOW i, mean don't drink every TIME i say twenty twenty, eyes but how sort of old school for as as good as these programs were on offense and became on, offense how three yards in a cloud of dust they were willing to Accept that was weird to.
Me but also. Huddles huddles are weird to.
Me, now, well it's funny you say, that because my takeaway was that this GREAT usc, team this ICONIC usc, team, yeah would get bombed By. Clemson oh, yeah bombed By Joe burrow AND lsu OR tu In. Alabama it is such a different, era and it's really in the not so distant.
Past, no and in this, listen it's in the last fifteen. Years the ability and the ability to scout and recruit and find guys online and watch way more tape than usual and better. Quality different, universe totally different, universe totally different. Universe so the, talent and this was interesting to me
BECAUSE i went back and looked at the recruiting. Classes at, least however much you believe in total depth of talent having to do with team, SUCCESS usc was a lot more talented Than Notre dame near the end of The Ty willingham era in that First Charlie weis's recruiting. Class this was a pro pro finishing with classes in the, twenties, thirties, whatever AS usc was putting together top, three, four top,
one if you believe certain recruiting, sites recruiting. Classes this was a much more TALENTED usc team Than Notre dames. Was and so with that, talent if we are going to push that team into the modern, ERA i am positive THIS usc team could compete with, anybody but what they look like schematically on, Offense you're, like, no this isn't this isn't. Working this is your maybe getting the best of What stanford has, been but not what the recent best Of, Clemson ALABAMA lco has.
Been fair, Enough so general takeaways on the broadcast quickly before we get to our.
GUEST i thought it was, FINE b PLUS B b. PLUS i didn't take exception with any of what the announcers had to. Say most of the, TIME i got a lot of, replay WHICH i was relieved. ABOUT i didn't know if we going to see multiple.
Again by the, Way by the, way interesting, Factoid yeah that interested more than Just Tom hammond in this. Game given the rules at the, time the visiting team got to choose whether or not they'd have replay at their, disposal and oh, Interesting Pete carroll decided against.
It, OH i was saying JUST tv, Broadcast.
No, NO i, know But i'm saying from from the actual, game wow and a standpoint of on.
Field, Yeah Pete carroll chose not to have. REPLAY i Thought Tom hammond was was good. ENOUGH i Thought Pat hayden was good. ENOUGH i thought the angles were good enough for the most, part AND i just missed the theme song desperately and. Forever now it's funny you should say. That just wait for, It just wait for the the tesh here it is right. Here, wow it's one crazy if only the The Notre dame band had the foresight to just play that. Song yeahftime and wheel owed a guitar.
Soloist NO i. WAS i was pleasantly. Surprised even though it was sixty four percent to, HOMERY i was still pleasantly surprised with the broadcast. ITSELF i thought they did a good. JOB i really.
Did not a huge fan Of Tom, hammond had never, been BUT i thought he did a really good job in this. Game And Pat hayden was better THAN i, remembered you, know was was doing a really good job up there as.
Well so one of those games.
That for sure will carry on in memory forever because not just for the fourth, quarter but the circumstances around the, game just a ton of fun the whole.
Way can we do can we do one of those postscripts what happened? After for? Everybody like at The end of The sandlot or a bunch of movies Like, Yeah benny The. Jet rodriguez went on to set records for The dodgers and winked at the guy calling the game in the booth.
Who still wears his old Fishing this is part of why The fox pregame show is a little weird for, me because It's Brady, Quinn Reggie, bush And Matt lionard all on the same. Set, true they are all. Friends they are all each other's god parents for their. Children that's not true to my, knowledge but it is, strange but it's. Good it's good that you get this sort of full circleness to. Everything, Spoiler Charlie weiss did not work out At Notre.
Dame no didn' Where Reggie bush's legacy AT usc is. Complicated Brady quinn And Matt liner didn't necessarily work out AS nfl. Quarterbacks BUT usc is still chasing the ghost Of Pete, carroll and that's Something Notre dame in the long. TERM i don't know if you would say That Notre dame has, won but they've been a more stable program
since the end of The Charlie weiss. Era, yeah, no, oh one hundred, percent which is very strange to, say considering what was going on into this, game the five years going into this game where it's just this slow rise FOR usc and just trying to pick their pets heads off the ground At Notre dame should mention just BECAUSE i like my. Nuggies the Former Notre dame athletic Director Kevin white his history At Notre, dame as far AS i can, TELL i don't know if he Hired Bob,
davey but he Gave Bob davey an. Extension he then tried to Hire georgia, O'Leary didn't work, out Hired Ty, willingham Hired Charlie, weiss Gave Charlie weiss an extension that lasted let's call it six years after he was let go from the university where he would collect this incredible. CHECK i think Every. Christmas and now he is the athletic DIRECTOR i believe At duke so he is still
a working athletic. Director And Ty, willingham even though he made way For Charlie, weiss went To, washington AND i assume that all worked out really. Well he got a vote of confidence from Then Washington President Mark. Emmerts so Everything I'm i'm sure is fine In, Seattle No Notre. Dame in terms of, stability they probably came out on, top but they have not come close to WHAT usc
was able to accomplish in this. Era all, Right, ty and, now in the interest of equal, time we spent a lot of time in the intro of this show talking about your emotions as A Notre dame, fan the roller coaster OF i would say some disappointment in the years leading up TO Usc Notre dame two thousand and. Five the thing is WITH usc leading up to this, game
it was. Gravy it was good times all. Around and since we have you as an emotional, Stakeholder, TIE i think we'd need a professional stakeholder on the other side of things for equal. Time Yogi, roth who wore a number of hats FOR usc at this. Time HE i, mean in today's, PARLANCE i guess he would have been an offensive. Analyst he was an offensive. Assistant he was in the booth next To Lane, kiffen who was calling the game for THE usc. Offense he got a cameo
on the. Broadcasts we saw, Him we were texting it back to before see him very briefly in the booth on the broadcast in the second. Half you have to look closely for a nine year Old Yogi Roth ye in the. Booth Yogi roth of. Course now THE pac Twelve, network look up all of his, podcasts The Yogi Ross. Show he does A pac twelve podcast With. TED i was gonna, Say Ted, Miller Ted robinson of THE pac Twelve network and they're doing a zoom show while we're all at. Home, yogi thank you for joining.
Us, hey thank you for bringing back down memory.
Lane. MAN i appreciate, it of.
Course SO i want to get into this right. Now this was a huge. Game you were a part of a number of huge games WITH. Usc what do you remember about even just the season leading up to Mid October South, Bend.
Indiana, well it was my first year Coaching, Dan so to, ME i was, like, Well i'll just coach forever and never lose a, game you. Know And PETE i had known SINCE i was, nineteen and he had become the biggest influence in my life outside of my parents at a young. Age and he would always pull me and his, son who's not the run game coordinator for The, Seahawks, brennan aside and, say, guys this is not really what.
Coaching IS i really like that, Whatever like.
We're In La, hollywood, undefeated go for a third Straight. NATTY i just came off of like a career At pittsburgh and. Life life was, epic you, Know and clearly that wasn't necessarily the case as you look back on that, now knowing what we all know about the, profession but that's WHAT i. Remember it was just so, special it was so. Dynamic it was unlike Anything i'd ever.
Felt you.
KNOW i just played for four years in college at a high, level AND sc was like a different.
Stratosphere and WHAT i had come to learn is that it.
Remains that like nothing in college football has ever been LIKE sc because Of Los angeles and because Of. Pete you, Know bama, Wins clemson, wins but they're doing in the middle of nowhere compared to when we were doing.
It so it was. Epic.
Man and then you add In Notre, dame you add In Charlie, weiss you add in all the drama around the. Rivalry Even pete would say his first year he hyped up the drama so much of the, team and then he, realized like kids at s see the, players they don't really care like they care more about THE ucla game than they do Notre dame because they grow up with all those. Kids so he was, like let me just treat it as another game versus everything that of course was building around.
It what are you doing behind the scenes at this? POINT i, MEAN i know you're working with the, OFFENSE i know you're working closely with the, coordinators but what are your specific. Responsibilities is a watching? Film is it working with the guys on the practice, field is it helping to scout ahead of? Time what is it that you were?
Doing?
Well it was kind of fun because it was the beginning of my career. There it was the first of four straight years THAT i spent at As see and by the End i'd end up writing Coach carrol's. Book and in the, BEGINNING i was just trying to, survive you, know, literally like you, think AND i tell this to athletes all the time when they think about, coaching we think
we know the game when you're, playing you. Know AND i was like the smart receiver BECAUSE i wasn't the biggest of the, fastest BUT i knew nothing compared to what you need to know when you join a coaching.
Staff so THERE i was call it.
Six months end of the, time and you're just doing everything That lane And stark. Said remember this was a transition of offensive, coordinators, Right Norm chow left to The, titans and then came these two thirty somethings you, Know, sarkiffion, right it was their nickname.
At least dayly times at the, time.
AND i was trying to do ANYTHING i could for. Them SO i was always a week ahead in terms of advanced. Scouting so you'd break down three to five games Of Notre. Dame you, know the previous week we were PLAYING asu and we had to gear up for this. One SO i was already ahead of the head of the curve a little. Bit and THEN i was the
guy who drew every. Play so IF i wasn't, MOVING i literally have the call sheet from that, game but it's in the bottom of a box right, now and our, playbook and my job was to draw up every play for the offensive players and the staff with all of the notes in.
It and What sark And lane did.
What was brilliant is by me drawing those plays literally thousands of, times it forced me to learn it and gain some mastery around. It SO i did, that and then my responsibility was the actual call. Sheet so the thing that you'd, see you, know star colding on the sideline when you watch the game, back or What lane's looking at that was me typing until two three every. Morning you, know little, changes sell, changes you, know the
wristband That liner would be. WEARING i would make and build all of the administrative, ELEMENTS i guess you would say on the offensive.
Side, So, yogi you did some of the advanced. Work i'm sure on on Noted. Deam how much of what the coaches saw from your advanced scouting did they sort of put into, Practice like what did they see in that advanced scouting that they sought to exploit on game?
Day?
Yeah, well the advanced, scouting the thing that it does is that it just basically PHRASE i like to use is chunks.
Information so it.
Says, hey majority on the first down of a possession or first and ten, situation second and, ten they're playing this on, defense third and whether it's one to, three four to, six et, cetera et, cetera they're playing.
This these are the bullets is they like to. Bring this is when they like to bring.
Them this is a front and what it allows us to do is when you click into the next game, mode which Is, sunday Usually sunday, afternoon.
He kind of have an.
Idea so then when you're drawing cards or you're trying to just send out like back in the, day it would be like one piece of paper we would give to the. Quarterbacks they'd come Up sunday night and be, Like, hey these are the initial thoughts we have for first and second down in the past. Game what do you, Think Matt John? David you Know MARK i think was a freshman at the, Time Mark. Sanchez so that's what it,
does kind of gives them a little head. Start but WHAT i had learned is that coaches are so anal that Like gas and young, coaches we do all this, work but it kind of like it it, matters but it kind of doesn't because coaches just trust, themselves especially play,
callers so they kind of do it all. Themselves So sunday, NIGHTS i would sit In sark's office and sit next to him as he kind of redid and double checked everything to make sure that IF i called something to nerd, OUT i know you guys like to in, overfront, right which would be like the nose tackle over one side of the, center and the three the interior defensive alignment over side of the. Guard, well if they saw him
moved six, inches they might call it something. Different so they were always kind of double checking those numbers to make sure they were. Right SO i think they just gave him an. Idea BUT i don't think any coach in the country is going to count on or trust like a twenty two to twenty three year old kid you give them any sort of advanced game.
Plan to be, Honest, well what was the general vibe among the team going into This Notre dame. GAME i know you Said Pete carroll tried to treat it more like any other, Game but you, know this is a program that came into The Notre dame game with a twenty seven game winning. Streak there was a lot of confidence, There but generally, speaking was was it a confident? VIBE i, mean they had a bit of a scare Against Arizona
state THAT i suppose could have changed confidence. Level but where was the team at going into this?
Game, yeah you, know confidence WAS i still think What pete did there around our confidence and how we built it was so different than than than anybody else in the history of college, football atleast in my twenty years around this. Craft AND i say that because we didn't gain confidence.
Based on how we played On.
Saturday and that was like ingrained manipulated into the brains of coaches and definitely the influence influential, players which was you're going to gain your confidence practice On. Monday And pete was so good at you, know you guys have heard about, it like the days of the, week you, know tell the Truth, monday Competition, tuesday no repeat or no Turnover wednesday and no Repeat thursday and Perfect. Friday
and that was basically what you just. Did and you were so ingrained and engrossed in that that you didn't really think about, like, oh, man like we Got Notre dame this, week or we got to go to Sun Devil stadium this, Week like we didn't really. Care and it was interesting because here we are as. COACHES i, know specifically for, ME i grew up A Notre dame. Fan ALL i want to do is go. THERE i
went to pit Because Notre dame turned me. Down like as sad as that is to, say So i'm here thinking about this, rival like, Hey Dwayne steve Like, matt like you kidding, Me like, yes aren't juiced up LIKE i? Am and they were just like, this and you got to give them credit for.
That and that is All. Pete that was all this.
Psychology, now with that, said all the coaches we knew was that what was at, stake the players knew what was at stake in terms of if you. Lose you, know at that era of college, football you were kind of outside looking in at a national championship. Opportunity so guys knew that and they felt. That but we knew that we escaped the previous, week but we also knew that we really hurt ourselves in that. Game and you go back and watch. It the first half was super.
Hot nobody was.
Prayed it was the Hottest i'd ever been in my. Life you, know coming From, pennsylvania we weren't prepared for. That but we came out to just kick the daylights out of them in the second. Half and we knew knew that we were the most talented team in the country and if we just, executed we would win and we would dominate.
Teams and we knew it wouldn't be easy to get everybody's best.
Shot but our confidence never was never really a, Question like even when we lost To texas that, year like confidence was still through the. Roof and that's all About pete of trying to just he really just made everybody realize that confidence is something that comes from your own self talk versus what other people are.
Saying on the. Field Against Notre, dame THE usc offense had A i would, say up and down. Day there were some things that just looked kind of. Sloppy there were you, know maybe, misreads there were, drops there were you, Know Notre dame overwhelmed the run game at certain. Times do you remember being surprised by how well The Notre
dame defense was. Playing do you remember thinking that your own offense seemed rattled by a moment that perhaps was bigger than they anticipated because this was not THE usc offense that we had seen in big moments.
Before, Yeah, NO i like, YESTERDAY i remember. Halftime you, know every bed In Notre, dame the visitors halftime locker room is probably the worst locker Room i've ever seen in terms of college, Right, Yeah AND i haven't been inside it in a couple of, years but it hasn't really.
Changed you.
Know it's kind of like your old school like a bad gym locker in high, School like got a couple of, rows a couple of, rows and he only no space to address the.
Team we came in and we're very, clear and we were a.
Second half team that whole, year, Right pete's reel whole. Tenure they were a second half, program, right which is pretty much a detriment to EVERY usc coach after, him because everybody just wants them to make changes Like pete. Made it wasn't really about the quote unquote changes we, made but we're able to just kind of reset a lot of times at halftime and know exactly what. Worked
stark And lane starts specifically was. Brilliant i've never been around anybody ever that can see the game from the sideline like he can see the game from the. SIDELINE i, mean he can tell what the defensive line is doing on the far side of the defensive. Line it's fascinating to hear those guys operat and that's where we.
Were we also knew we were going to get their best.
Shot you, know if you go back in, time, guys, yeah every team rocks the bus, now, right we started that the previous. Day we got There friday and there was ten thousand fans for our walkthrough outside Of Notre Dame, stadium and we start rocking the bus right and then we see the grass and IT'S x amount of inches higher than it usually. Is and then for, ME i played At Notre dame a bunch at pitt and we lost every.
Game like this game.
Kind of shook out in terms of you just kind of ran out of, steam and you hate to say.
It was like.
Touchdown jesus helped them out to a certain, Degree like it just felt so real because how many teams have gone into that stadium and played great and you lose. Late that's kind of How Notre dame has built their program on a lot of like fourth quarter. Wins SO i kind of was feeling, that AND i think our team it went back to our coffee and they never, Flinched like even when we were, down it was never we're going to lose.
Here the streak. Ends it was.
NEVER i don't feel as though our guys felt the burden of like it kept getting bigger and. Heavier oh my, god oh my, god the streak. ENDS i felt as though the pressure was On Notre, dame, like.
End this, game let's end, it let's end, it let's end.
It and you look at the last couple of drives of that, game and some moments like you, Know Brady quinn obviously, plays you, know out.
Of his mind to a large. Degree he makes that touchdown.
Run he's playing, Loose but we knew parts of their team were playing, tight AND i feel that looking back on, IT i felt THAT i felt then that they were trying not to lose once they had the. Lead VERSUS, us we were, saying just give, us give us another. Chance, man we don't care how much time it's.
Left let's.
Go how many times in the booth was the, phrase oh my, god thank God Reggie bush plays for. Us oh my. GOD i mean he, right he has those two enormous. Touchdowns he's a threat in the in the receiving. Game Notre dame has to account for him on every. Play and this is A usc team that had run the ball really well all year. Long was not outside Of reggie and his some of his longer runs running the ball that, Well Matt liner was not hitting receivers.
Downfield he had a big play To Dominique. Bird he had a couple of big, plays like in the intermediate. Range but this was not THE usc offense consistently like it had been. Earlier is it just oh my, god thank God ritchie bushes.
Here there was a lot of.
THAT i, MEAN i remember the run where he kind of hurtled the safety AND i remember watching. THAT i was, like it's a. Route we're going to run these dudes out of the. Stadium and our team felt that. Too but AND i forget the safety's, name who was the Boxer.
Toms he played out of his.
MIND i remember he was all over the field in that.
Game yeah.
EXACTLY i mean those are the ones that, like that's what killed us in that. Game like you go back and at least and when we went back and watched it as a stat it was like it was the first time all year that year where throughout the game there were not a lot of, plays let alone drives where we didn't have Bus you, know we didn't have unforced.
Air is WHAT i would call them now as a.
Broadcaster you, know so the power return total bust unforced, there we don't do, That like we hadn't done.
That it was terrible like we were moving the ball in the run, game but then.
We wouldn't make a block or somebody would slip the, backside you, know from from a defensive end standpoint and track down the inside zone. Play that's where it was killing us all. Game we just couldn't get out of our. Way and of course you got to give credit To Notre. Dame they had obviously a talented team in that. Regard they were playing with incredible energy and.
Confidence and the crowd was epic and all this stuff in that. PLACE i know you guys have been, there.
But it's it's really cool because it literally feels like Like cameron into or maybe in, basketball like fans are literally on top of.
You SO i just think that's kind of how the game.
Went we never were able to put anything together for a long period of time in that ball.
Game all, Right, yo you mentioned the.
Grass you were there as part of the. STAFF i was there as a fan AND i remember walking out to my seat looking at the field and, thinking what the hell is? This but surely somebody forgot to do their chores, here walking through maybe the day before walking out onto the field the day Of, like is there any reaction to that. Whatsoever what did people say when they saw the length of the?
Turf oh, yeah well it was the day, before it was the night before in the, meeting and you, know it was kind of the old coaching adage of, cool that might slow us, down but it's going to slow you down, too you, Know and.
So we really didn't.
Care it was kind of like and you, know you look back in that, rain that era of Coach, carrol every Team. Oklahoma there's even quotes From Bob stoops around this game where a lot of teams hoped things went their. Way you, know they hoped that it, Rained they hoped that the grass Slowed reggie. Down they hope that we turn the ball. Over and the difference is of hoping versus knowing or. DRAMATIC i still say that, now like a Fringe bowl team is still hoping things go well
in fourth quarters of Games, Clemson. Bama certain teams they know what they can do and who they, are and that's what we. Were we're, like, okay, cool like you want to do, that you want to bring ten, thousand you want to Have Charlie weiss run his mouth like.
Whatever it is that go, Ahead like keep hoping that things.
Go well because we know that we're going to RUN iso right up.
Here you know.
What we know That Dwayne jarrett won't get covered in single. Coverage we know that our defense is going to bring. Pressure that was just the, mindset AND i don't want it to be felt as, arrogance but it was right on that. Edge and that's Where pete was. Masterful like he got us to play right on the. Edge and that's why you know our team led the nation penalties a lot of the, time or was one of the worst.
Teams like we played on an.
Edge officials knew, it opponents knew. It but it also allowed us to be as talented as we. Were and that's the EDGE i called the edge of uncomfortable is where greatness. Happens and that's where our team was because it was such a competitive.
Environment so the game comes down to the final drive for each. Team, Really Notre dame puts together an unbelievable. Drive Brady quinn total, gamer leads them down the. Field hey they take the. Lead Notre dame, does and THEN usc with their backs against the, Wall Matt lionert comes to the line of, scrimmage checks into a play that or checks into something that wasn't necessarily called down from
the booth or from a headset on the. Sideline what was that final what was That Matt lionert play and what was it supposed to? Be and what did He we know what he checked, into but what was the process involved in the biggest moment of that regular.
Season, yeah, NO i remember it like. Yesterday, man it was it was, Cool LIKE i could Remember matt's eyes on the highlight.
Film And i've always, SAID i still believe This Matt leonard is the coolest Guy i've ever. Met no offense to either one of, You like he's swag around.
Him it's close to, him close two, three close two.
Three But matt's always had this aura about, him like that THAT edg factor right where when you walk into a, room people feel you and you make them. Better and he always did. That AND i can remember the sequence And i'll take you through. It so up in the,
Booth i'm next To. Lane my job at the time is to basically write down what play we run and then the coverage that has run in association with, it and the other guy sitting next to me is job is to write down the defensive front and if there's blisses after the, series we give those pieces of paper in a lane and he looks at what do they play?
Against what?
Formation we come up there? Now and here it is season on the line. Right everybody knows. It and the play we call is sixty one AND i believe it was sam. Protection why option and the play in the? FORMATION i believe it was a three by one, formation and the option route is from your tight, End Dominique, Bird Dominique. Bird he could either take the option, out take the option, in or if there's no deep, safety you just run to go. Route there was clearly a deep.
Safety and What lane says To, sark And sark relays To matt is if they give us this certain, look check it to eighty two stay.
And eighty two, stay slug. GO i think it was F win.
Was the audible that we often, called and it was old School West coast. Offense slat and go on on the front, side OR i guess it'd be on the backside and then, uh basically slug go win on the on the front, side so it's flat and Go Dwayne jarrett seam route by the slot, receiver hitch way out side and max protection by the tight End Dominique bird and the running back and the running back.
Right you could trickle out if he had.
To later he trickled out on the previous, snap if you remember, that when he caught it and made a nice little. Game so we audible of that or what we call sixty, one we call the y option. Play and Here's lane next to, me And i'm, like not saying a, word, obviously you're just kind of. Watching you see the, coverage you know what they need to. See and it's really this moment of zen amid chaos Of Lane Sark, liner and they, go it's the.
Look it's the. Look have him change. It And sark screams in that voice that you, know, hey eighty two stay and the signal Is i'm giving it to you. NOW i don't know if you can.
See ye holding wide binoculars.
Exactly and it's out to the side and he gives them that signal and everybody relays it and you Hear matt with his EyeBlack left to the right offensive line tight.
End everybody gets the signal.
And it's single high and we're, like, okay if his eyes can hold the safety which was the whole. Point if it's the single high, defense like we're gonna we're gonna. Win and they, did AND, Dj dwayne obviously, wins is released of the line of scrimmage.
And for the first time in a long, time.
The football gods if you believe in, them AND i don't necessarily do all the, time but if you believe in. Them they're on the side of the visitor In Notre Dame stadium and it goes right past or three dollars suits me up with THE dB And dwayne makes the.
Catch so we see it in the booth before it. Happens he's got, Him he's got, Him he's got.
Him and then AND i hate to say, it BUT i had zero, Poise no one had any poise because he caught.
It and we are jumping up and down in the press.
Box GO dj, Go AND i Remember lane coach the receivers Recruited dwayne out Of New, jersey and we're, thinking this is a house, call walk, off this is how you win the ball. Game and as he's doing, that we're all. Celebrating the payers THAT i referenced earlier are now.
Everywhere there's nothing Like it's a Disaster Notre dame because, they're you, know an old iconic.
Stadium maybe they have this old LITTLE tv up in the, right And i'm up there like fist, popping Like i'm In, vegas AND i smashed.
The television.
AND i felt LIKE i broke, it but it didn't, matter like you just it was next play, right you're screaming the.
Adrenaline it's insane for.
ME i, MEAN i had an utter distaste for Everything Notre dame because HERE i am like twelve months removed from, playing only wanted to go. There never beat him in my career as a, player we always lost, clothes AS i referenced.
Earlier SO i like instantly revert back to like the kid in college in a.
Heartbeat and then it gets hot and we're, thinking oh my, god it's, chaos, right and we sit back down and like headsets are, off, Man like this is not like it's like organized, cast, Right like this is pandemonium in the booth right alone in the, sideline like you guys saw, it, Right and there's the great YouTube viral clips that are out there all over with everybody kind of running back and forth and among amid all of, that AND i just talked about it on A pack twelve YouTube Series
i'm doing About Coach carroll because it was one of his proudest moments and when he.
Looks back on his career because he wasn't that.
Way he was straight like, poised and he always had trained. Himself then in the moments of chaos he would be the calmnist and he.
Was and here we are trying to figure it, out what do we? Do like don't we? Do And i'll hit a period, There but that's basically what set up the next segment of.
Plays so the next segment of plays is The bush. Push The bush push is forever enshrined in the history of college. Football Matt liner goes up to the, line acts as if he's gonna stop the clock because the clock was whining at that point in time us he was out of. Timeouts instead of clocking the, ball decides to go, forward initially stopped on that on that first, push he kind of spins. Around he's facing backwards Towards Reggie, bush And reggie just gives him a shove and knocks
him into the end. Zone alast The bush. Push what is the reaction like after?
That, WELL i got to remember, too right prior to That lioner it sneaks and kind of does like the worthybird nods of the, sideline and the clock runs out and the fans rush the field AND i think the game's, over and Again pete is straight poised and it's set back. Up and while that's, happening the headsets are still on And lane And stark, again they were just so dialed and they're talking To matt about what to do and what.
The play call is going to.
Be and we had an audible within that play call where you know you're signaling spike, it spike, it spike. It but if one of the coaches pointed at you basically gave you the, option, like, Hey, matt if you want to take, it take, it you, Know and we obviously all the trust in the world And matt And i'm sure you guys have heard the story From matt's.
Mouth if, not it's a great. Story he shared.
It he shared it many times where he kind of just turns around and looks At reggie and he.
Goes, hey let's do.
This and that was kind of the relationship those two, had and you, know everything that they've been through and what we've been.
Through And reggie was on his Own heisman run at the time.
And the way it, goes and you knew he was going to make it like there was never a hesitation offensive.
Line and you look at you look back at that offensive. Line we're talking Like Ryan, Khalil Sam.
BAKER i, mean there's the dudes of dudes on that line obviously already kicked out in THE, nfl And reggie wasn't going to allow it to. Happen and he's kind of happened in slow, motion, Man and when it, happened we lost our minds again in the booth and all we want to do is get.
Down there as fast as.
Possible And i'll never forget, it because there's only two of these THAT i remember in my, career and one of them was this.
Game the other one is The texas, game but that we.
Lost but you usually get escorted down by police, security Especially Notre, dame because it's it's not LIKE i don't know what it is now for, staffs but it's not really set up for staffs to get back down to the booth or get down to the locker room very, easily like you basically have to like kind of run through the fans and find your way back to the, tunnel and they work your way through the. TUNNEL i,
mean it's it's chaos and this game was. Bonkers so we get out and there's people everywhere because people are, pissed, right Like Notre dame fans are. Leaving everybody's you, know pushing shouldn't.
Be nobody really knew the, RULE i believe in that, Era LIKE i don't think you guys watched the. BROADCAST i highly doubt they, said, like.
Yeah you're allowed to, push but you can't. Pull like that rule had didn't even exist yet in college. Football so there was a lot of debate about what went, on let alone should the game already have been? Over So Notre dame fans clearly are very upset in that. Regard so It's, Lane Rocky, seto, Myself Dave, watson Sam, Oo there's a couple of.
Us they were like scurrying out And i'm trying to still gather up all those.
Papers you, know you don't want to leave, Anything like every coach is paranoid, that like you leave all your, secrets even though everybody does the same thing for the most. Part SO i gather everything, up put it into a little, briefcase and you, KNOW tv is pretty much a disaster up, anyway and we run our way down and get to the locker room as fast as possible because for his masterful, As pete wasn't so many. Things he was such a great, orator and we wanted to hear what he's gonna.
SAY i want to celebrate with the.
Fellas and it was, crazy, man it was just it was an Ultimate excel game.
Of, like not of thank god it's. Over we.
Won most teams that are going for a NATTY i think feel that. Way it was more of, like holy, shit that just, Happened like can you? Believe and it was almost that moment WHERE i, Think, matt Maybe reggie definitely this is a. Staff we knew there was something special, occurring not just for that, season but in the big picture of collegiate athletics and college. Football so, yeah it just felt, like hey, man this is like this is our. Year we're going to win that, game like we're gonna win them.
All, Yeah and you, know you, know you from the other, side being a fan in the stadium with a good friend of mine who was A usc, Fan we had done plenty of trash talk leading up to that, game even throughout the, game but after that, sequence the last two, minutes, again like you, said totally. Bonkers we walked out of that stadium and didn't say a word to each other for a good twenty thirty minutes because again we were still processing.
Like holy, shit this.
Happened we were, Here we saw it with our own eyes and total pandemonium in the. Stadium didn't quite know what was going. On the clock runs, out people run on the, field did he? Score did he not? Score what happened When Dwayne jarrett caught the? Ball how did he get? Open like so many questions without the benefit of having THE tv in front of you that we just didn't know how to. React it was an insane moment in.
Sports it was out of, control AND i thought it was also you look back at moments in our careers, now like it was great for the, game you, know and it's great when se And Notre dame are, good you, know and national conversation and that, year you, know there's a lot of backstory, there, Right Charlie wets And Pete carroll kind of traded spots with The patriots and The jets and parcels and the, staffs AND i don't say there's bad, blood but it wasn't like nobody was buddy
buddy in that, regard And pete never made it, personal but you.
Could feel it to a degree like there was just a lot of underlying dynamics.
And you, Know charlie gets the job AND i don't want to misquote, him but it was something along the lines of we're gonna have a decided schematic, advantage which clearly was, ridiculous but there's just a.
Lot there was just a lot going.
On then you add in the game and the programs and the, history and it was really there was really a gift to be a part of a small part of that team and that, year and AS i get, older just that that program because it is.
Different it's way different Than.
Alabama It's, clemson and What dad was doing is the closest thing to me at What pete. Did it's just obviously in a different, conference in a completely different.
Community, yogirof thank you very much for your. Time AND i WAS i was sweating a little bit when you were talking about the audible ahead of The Duayne jarrett play, like what's going to? Happen what is he still going to catch? It and he, Did he totally. Did AND i appreciate that sort of, insight which Unfortunately tie in section one oh four could not provide the.
Show, nope, anytime. FELLAS i love what you're. Doing, YEAH i. ALWAYS i love all your, content you KNOW i. Am i'm a big.
FAN i should have wart MY t shirt. TODAY i do love my solid verbal. TEA i appreciate THOSE i wasn't thinking.
That soft material. Only that's that's HOW i, live and that's how the solid verballers.
LIVE i love, well Stay, stafe thanks for having.
Me take care Of thank you all, Right, Dan, well there you.
Go cool, stories cool insight from our Friend Yogi roth from THE pac twelve. Network this has been. Fun we're gonna have to do more of. These you get to pick the next. Game i'll do a Heartbreaking orgon. Loss, okay if the first two episodes are gonna Be tie Makes peace with an Old. WOUND i will make peace in the same way as an Old oregon.
Wound so here's the.
Deal you know how to find. Us subscribe to the show wherever you get your. Podcasts we will be. Here we will be with you all throughout the quarantine and forever.
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Ball that would be nice for that guy over, there my good Friend Dan rubinstein hold up In New York. City for, Myself Ty Hilton brandt here in Eastern. Pennsylvania thank you so much for embarking on this journey with. Us we will be back in a. Week in the, meantime stay, safe stay, solid And i'll catch you.
Soon peace and type play the play The Little solifore.
Make Sure, yeah so that really Is John tesh huh Really, Johns, wow are you living?
Amazing