KankaNation Prediction Contest
"ND 56, USC 20... I'm not on the bandwagon, I'm driving it." - Pete Godlewski
"I thought picking USC was actually three extra months in purgatory." - Andy Wolkiewicz
"I was really gonna pick against the Irish, but this is setting up too much like games I've seen before, namely FSU '93 and USC '95. USC '95, Keyshawn and the boys came in with swagger, and then a cold rain came down, and Marc Edwards and the Irish simply ran them over. Lou's last great win....
Charlie has me too jacked up, or "geeked," like Charlie Jr. Watch the video, it's at the end. I think he knows he's gonna win. He knows something we don't know, and Petie boy doesn't know." - Dave Schmitt
Pep Rally
(on Weis) "He does a great job of bringing back the old players." - Kanka's Dad
"There are a lot of beautiful girls out there tonight." - Mo Stovall
"Yeah, like this girl who got you through [class removed to protect the not-so-innocent]!" - Anon.
"If I was Leinart, I would not want to run into Chris Zorich before the game." - Kanka
Pregame
"Posting Live from Campus!
Just want to let you know I have never witnessed such an electric atmosphere on campus. Not even the 2000 Nebraska game was this huge! The pep rally was great. The weather is absolutely perfect. The new gold on the dome is shining brighter than ever. Just followed the band on their South Quad marchout and stop in front of College Gameday. And now more festivities to follow. I wish you all could be here to experience this too, I'm just getting chills down my spine thinking about this great day! We want this win so much and regardless of the outcome, this will be one of the most memorable days in ND Football history." - Nick Schumacher
"GO IRISH!
KICK USC'S ASS
LOVE, JESUS" - church sign
KankaNation Horse Trailer
"Bush... but the ND coaching staff did a remarkable job in preparing. Again, Coach said there are no moral victories, but I know he is damn proud of the fight in his boys today, as I think every ND fan should be." - Andy Wolkiewicz
"I'd rank 1) ND Coaching Staff, 2) Reggie Bush
Without Bush, this game would have been a slaughter, with ND coming out ahead. Leinart was off, but the rest of the team made him look good." - Jon Byrer
The Aftermath
"College Football is the Greatest Sport in the World
I think Saturday might have been the most memorable day in College Football history and shows that the emotion of college football is second to none. Of course, there was the remarkable fight between ND and USC. My heart was pounding as Quinn ran it in with just over 2 minutes to go. My fears were coming true as USC drove the field. My dreams came true as the clock ran down to 0:00. My gut twisted as I realized that a ball fumbled out of bounds does stop the clock. And my eyes watered as Leinart crossed the goalline. I never felt so sick after a game in all my life. Yet, despite the loss, (and I know there are no moral victories, as Weis would say) I have never been as proud of an Irish football team(considering I wasn't really an ND fan until I went there.) Charlie Weis is a great man and an amazing coach.
Elsewhere in the college football world, other fans felt the same way as the Irish faithful. Penn State witnessed its perfect season and possible National Championship hopes smashed on the last play against Michigan. Minnesota fans surely thought their team had the game locked up until Wisconsin blocked a punt into the endzone with :30 on the clock to win. Florida fans prayed their team could get into that endzone against LSU one more time, only to have their team fall short. Louisville fans saw their hopes at a Big East championship fade as West Virginia erased a 16 point deficit to take the game to OT where Louisville lost as their QB was unable to get into the endzone on the 2point conversion.
Yes, there are those moments in college football that break your heart. Many teams and fans experienced those moment on Saturday, October 15, 2005. But what makes those moments bearable is the knowledge that someday your team will be on the other side of the heartbreaking moment. It will be your team's quarterback fighting into the endzone or throwing that perfect pass to a wide open receiver or it'll be your special team's guy getting his hand on that punt. And when those moments happen, you'll be happy and the disappointing times won't seem so bad. " - Andy Wolkiewicz
"We wore the green jerseys because Charlie knew it'd be the last time for a long time that we were big underdogs." - seen on NDNation
"I liked the green jerseys. Charlie sure knows his ND history (and he should). For those of you who didn't notice, the jersey numbering - gold with white trim - was very close to the numbering of the jerseys in the '77 USC game - yellow with white trim." - Kanka
"The green jerseys we wore on Saturday were awesome; the old-school color tone is much better than the kelly. That said, I still like the home blue best.
This game can be summed up easiest with Simmons' levels of losing: it was your typical 'Alpha Dog' game. We played as well as we possibly could've played, but were beaten by the best player on the field. That game was all Bush. Without him, ND rolls. Like the old Knicks-Bulls games: it didn't matter how well the Knicks played, Jordan was always gonna rise up as the Alpha Dog and take the game away.
I didn't get too crazy at the end with the clock running down, because I knew the game wasn't over yet. It was pretty clear that the ball went out of bounds. I would've hated to be in the student section, however, because my brother said all they could see was Leinart get wrecked and go down short of the goal line. It looked obvious to him that the game was over. What a nightmare.
USC got a pretty generous spot on that play, but bad spots happen on crazy plays like that. I thought Leinart was gonna 'waltz' into the end zone on that play, but Mays closed it up incredibly fast. What a play!
...
I was telling Ellen before the game how the last time we beat a #1 team, Shawn Wooden batted down the FSU pass in the end zone to end the game. I noted that 12 years later, we have another corner named Wooden, and how sick would it have been for the game to end similarly? Well, it doesn't get any closer than that. Leinart saved his one good play of the game for when they needed it most. Incredible throw. Wooden's arm comes across a split second too late. Damn.
...
Pat Haden's... halftime interview of the ballerina was nice, as well; he actually called him out on his class schedule, which, to Leinart's credit, he didn't try to talk his way out of.
Charlie has us back. I am swallowing the Kool-Aid flowing from a beer bong. The next few years are going to be a lot of fun. I wasn't sick to my stomach after the game; sad, disappointed for what could've been, but not sick. The best is yet to come. The game was an all-timer, and everyone involved in it will be better for it. Especially Pete Carroll. He will relish and cherish this game, and show the tape to this grandchildren someday. And when they ask to see tapes of the 2006 game and those that follow, he will have conveniently lost the tapes. Then again, they will not be suitable for viewing by children, anyway." - Dave Schmitt
Finally, two links of note:
- I don't want to make a huge deal about "The Bush Push," as complaining won't change the outcome of the game. However, Da Wiz of Odds felt compelled to email me his take on the play.
- An explanation of the "Tampa 2" defense, and how it compares to a normal Cover 2 Zone. This article is so good, it's been mirrored on several NFL team sites.
