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| Reggie Bush ran for 139 yards and scored two touchdowns in USC's comeback win over Arizona State. |
The University of Southern California has been blessed to have some of the greatest running backs in college football history such as Marcus Allen, Anthony Davis, and Charles White to name a few.
But perhaps their greatest backfield came in the form of Reggie Bush and LenDale White who were in the backfield during the glory days of the mid-2000s as the two combined to rush for over 6,000 yards and 77 touchdowns. during their time at USC.
The duo dubbed "Thunder & Lightning" would help the Trojans in their efforts against a pesky Arizona State Sun Devils team on October 1, 2005.
The Trojans were the #1 team in the country and the two-time defending national champions having split the 2003 championship with LSU and then winning it outright in 2004.
The Trojans were led by head coach Pete Carroll, who has in his fifth season as the head coach and featured a dynamic offense that had the lightning quick Bush and bruiser White in the backfield, plus 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart at quarterback.
The Trojans had started their quest of a third straight national title with a 3-0 record in which the USC offense had averaged 59 points and 615 yards per game as the men from Troy traveled to Valley of the Sun to take on the Sun Devils.
Arizona State entered their game with the defending national champions unranked with a 3-1 record under fifth-year head coach Dirk Koetter and quarterback Sam Keller who had thrown for 1,235 yards and 12 touchdowns thus far despite missing the opening game of the season.
If the Sun Devils were going to end the Trojans' 25-game winning streak, they would end another strong performance by Keller to help tire USC as the temperature at kickoff was nearly 100 degrees.
The Sun Devils got the ball to start the game as they drove from their 20-yard-line to midfield before having to punt the ball to the Trojans, who took over at their 12-yard-line and drove to the Arizona State 47-yard-line as Leinart completed passes of 13 yards to Brandon Hancock and 23 yards to Dwayne Jarrett.
However, the drive would stall as Leinart completed only one of his next three passes forcing the Trojans to punt the ball back to Arizona State, who would go three-and-out on its ensuing possession to punt the ball back to USC.
The Trojans would drive from their 33-yard-line to the Arizona State 35-yard-line until a pair of penalties pushed the USC offense back 19 yards to their 46-yard-line to force another punt when the Sun Devils put up the first points of the game as wide receiver Terry Richardson ran the punt back 84 yards for a touchdown to give Arizona State a 7-0 lead.
The two teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the second quarter when on the first play of the quarter, Keller was intercepted by USC linebacker Oscar Lua to give the Trojans the ball at the Arizona State 13-yard-line.
But a quarterback sack of Leinart on 3rd down would force the Trojans to settle for a 36-yard field goal by Mario Danelo which cut the Sun Devils' lead to 7-3.
Following another Arizona State punt, the Trojans got the ball at their 20-yard-line and quickly drove to the Sun Devils' 40-yard-line as Leinart completed back-to-back passes to fullback David Kirtman for 19 yards and Steve Smith for 21 yards until the next three plays picked up just three yards to set up 3rd & 7.
Instead of attempting a 54-yard field goal, Carroll decided to go for the 1st down on 4th & 7 which failed as Leinart's pass intended for Smith fell incomplete to give Arizona State the ball on its 37-yard-line.
That is when the Sun Devils put together their best drive of the game thus far as Keller completed all four of his passes for 60 yards on an eight-play, 63-yard drive that culminated with Keller's seven-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Lewis to increase the Arizona State lead to 14-3 with 6:56 left in the second quarter.
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| Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller would threw for 347 yards and two TDs but also threw 5 INTs. |
The Sun Devils would keep the momentum going as they forced the Trojans to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession to get the ball back at their 45-yard-line as Keller completed two passes to Derek Hagan for 40 yards to set up Keegan Herring's five-yard touchdown run to give Arizona State a 21-3 lead with 4:34 remaining before halftime.
Facing their largest deficit of the season, the Trojans responded by driving from their 20-yard-line to the Arizona State 27-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 3 when Carroll again decided to go for it on 4th down.
Once again, the Trojans could not convert as Leinart's pass for Dominique Byrd fell incomplete to give the ball back to the Sun Devils who ran out the clock to go into the locker room ahead 21-3.
Even though they were down by 18 points, the Trojans still had to feel confident about their chances at winning as the week before they had been down 13-0 at halftime to the Oregon Ducks, only to score 45 unanswered points to win the game.
If USC was going to come back and win, they would need to get Bush and White going who combined to run for 86 yards in the first half with Bush accounting for 56 while White finished with just 30.
The Trojans got the ball to start the second half as Leinart completed a 13-yard pass to Jarrett on the first play from scrimmage, which was followed by two straight running plays that totaled 12 yards to pick up another 1st down.
Leinart would complete three straight passes for 23 yards to give the Trojans a 1st down at the Sun Devils' 32-yard-line when Leinart handed the ball off to White who took it up the gut and ran for a 32-yard touchdown to cut the Arizona State lead to 21-10 just 2:19 into the third quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Trojans got the ball at their 15-yard-line and drove to their 34-yard-line when Leinart completed a 22-yard pass to Jarrett, only to have the wide receiver fumble the ball which was recovered by Arizona State defensive back Maurice London, whose 14-yard return gave the Sun Devils the ball at the USC 42-yard-line.
However, the Sun Devils would give it right back to the Trojans as cornerback Justin Wyatt picked off a Keller pass to give the ball back to USC at its 36-yard-line.
After the drive began with an eight-yard pass to Jarrett, Leinart handed the ball off to White, who bursted for 27 yards to give USC a 1st down at the Sun Devils' 29-yard-line, which was followed by a White run for five yards to set up 2nd & 4.
That is when Bush made his presence felt as he took a Leinart handoff and ran 24 yards for the touchdown to bring USC to within four points at 21-17 with 8:29 left in the third quarter.
The Sun Devils would drive from their 20-yard-line to their 45-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 1 when Koetter decided to gamble and go for the 1st down.
However, the gamble would not pay off as Lua stuffed Herring for no gain to give the Trojans the ball at the Arizona State 45-yard-line with a chance to take the lead, only to have USC to go three-and-out to punt the ball back to the Sun Devils who took over at their 11-yard-line.
It seemed that the Sun Devils had regained the momentum as Keller completed his next three passes for 39 yards to drive Arizona State to the 50-yard-line when Trojans cornerback John Walker made an interception to give the Trojans the ball at their 44-yard-line with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.
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| USC quarterback Matt Leinart completed 23 of 39 passes for 258 yards. |
Following another exchange of punts, the Trojans got the ball back at their 11-yard-line when two runs by White for 11 yards and a five-yard pass from Leinart to Byrd gave USC a 1st down at its 27-yard-line when Leinart connected with Kirtman for a 42-yard pass that put the Trojans at the Arizona State 31-yard-line.
The Trojans would keep on the ground as White and Bush combined for 30 yards on six carries to set up Leinart's one-yard touchdown run to give USC its first lead of the game at 24-21 midway through the fourth quarter.
It seemed the game was slipping away from the Sun Devils especially as they were set to face a 1st & 25 from their 15-yard-line following a 15-yard face mask at the start of their ensuing possession.
But Keller would complete a 23-yard pass to Hagan, which was followed by a 12-yard pass to Moey Mutz to give Arizona State a 1st down at the 50-yard-line.
Keller would then complete passes of 14 yards to Mutz and 24 yards to Rudy Burgess to set up his one-yard touchdown pass to Lee Burghgeaf to give the Sun Devils a 28-24 lead with 5:57 left in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans would respond with a five-play, 80-yard drive which featured a 14-yard run by Bush to start the drive, followed by a 23-yard run by White to put the Trojans in Arizona State territory, and capped off with a 34-yard touchdown by Bush to give USC a 31-28 lead with 3:44 remaining in regulation.
The Sun Devils would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line only to have disaster strike on their second play of their ensuing possession when Keller's pass intended for Hagan slipped through his hands and landed in the arms of a diving Keith Ellison to give USC the ball at its 44-yard-line.
Three plays later, the Trojans were back in the end zone as White exploded for a 46-yard touchdown run which increased the USC lead to 38-28 with 2:22 left in regulation.
Needing a score quickly, the Sun Devils would begin its next possession at the USC 49-yard-line following a 49-yard return by Richardson on the ensuing kickoff.
Keller would hit Hagan for 11 yards to begin the drive but were soon be faced with a 4th & 17 at the USC 45-yard-line when Keller found Hagan again for 17 yards and a 1st down at the Trojans' 28-yard-line.
Back-to-back sacks pushed the Sun Devils back 12 yards to the USC 40-yard-line when Keller connected with Hagan again, this time for 23 yards and a 1st down at the Trojans' 17-yard-line.
But after completing an eight-yard pass to Randy Hill to set up 2nd & 2 at the USC nine-yard-line, Keller would throw his fifth interception of the game as Walker picked him off in the end zone to give the ball to the Trojans who ran out the clock as they would escape Tempe with a 38-28 victory to push their winning streak to 26 as White and Bush combined for 269 yards and four touchdowns in the second half with White running for 167 and Bush running for 102.
The loss to USC would be the biggest down in an up-and-down season for the Sun Devils as they would finish with a 7-5 record as the season would end with a 45-40 win over Rutgers in the Insight Bowl.
Keller would transfer to the University of the Nebraska in the offseason while Koetter would be fired following another 7-5 season in 2006.
As for the Trojans, they would run their running streak up to 34 as they finish the regular season with a 12-0 record to secure a spot in the BCS National Championship Game where they would face the #2 Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl.
One of the greatest games in college football history, the Trojans would fall 41-38 to the Longhorns, ending USC's dreams of a third straight national title.
White would finish his USC career as the all-time in rushing touchdowns with 52 while Bush would claim the 2005 Heisman Trophy with his 1,750 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns during the season.
However, Bush would vacate his Heisman Trophy a few years later after a NCAA investigation ruled that Bush received improper benefits during his time at USC which also led the vacation of their 2004 national title.
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| LenDale White finished with 198 yards and two TDs on 19 carries. |
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