Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/584460
UNDER THE DOME 20 Years Ago: Oct. 14, 1995 Forty-nine years after Johnny Lujack made the most famous tackle in Notre Dame history — an open- field stop of Army's Felix "Doc" Blanchard to help preserve a 0-0 tie and eventually win Notre Dame the 1946 national title — cornerback Ivory Covington also has a game-saving tackle versus the Black Knights. After building a 28-7 cushion in the second half, No. 17 Notre Dame sees Army score three straight touchdowns, the last with 39 seconds to close within 28-27. With overtime not yet in play until the next season, Army goes for the two-point play and win. Quarter- back Ron McAda rolls out and finds tight end Ron Leshinski at the one. After the 6-3, 240-pound Leshinski turns to score, the hard-charging Covington gets perfect leverage and drops him with a textbook tackle inches short of the goal line to preserve the win. 10 Years Ago: Oct. 15, 2005 In one of the epic clashes in Notre Dame Stadium's 75-year history, No. 1 USC ex- tends its winning streak to 28 with a 34-31 victory over the No. 9 Fighting Irish. The Trojans win when quarterback Matt Leinart, whose initial surge from the 1-yard line is stopped, gets pushed over the goal line by running back Reggie Bush in the infamous "Bush Push" play with three sec- onds left. The score is set up when Lein- art perfectly lobs a 61-yard completion to Dwayne Jarrett on fourth-and-nine from the Irish 26. Regarding Leinart's score, Section 3, Ar- ticle 2b of the NCAA rule book states "[t] he runner shall not grasp a teammate; and no other player of his team shall grasp, push, lift or charge into him to assist him in forward progress." Had the penalty been called, it would have put USC back at the 6-yard line with one more play. First-year Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis is magnanimous in defeat and even compliments Bush for his "heads up" push. "Is that illegal? Yes." Weis said. "Would I do the same thing? Absolutely. I don't want to be a hypocrite." It is the most viewed regular-season col- lege football game in nine years with 30 million households watching. — Lou Somogyi Top‑ranked USC defeated No. 9 Notre Dame 34‑31 on Oct. 15, 2005, after the infamous "Bush Push" play — when running back Reggie Bush assisted QB Matt Leinart across the goal line with three seconds left. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND