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| USC running back Reggie Bush would put together a performance for the ages in the Trojans' win over the Fresno State Bulldogs in 2005. |
The USC Trojans of the early 2000s were the top program in all of college football as they won back-to-back national championships in 2003 + 2004 and produce three Heisman Trophy winners in span of four years starting with quarterback Carson Palmer in 2002 followed by quarterback Matt Leinart in 2004 and then running back Reggie Bush in 2005.
When it comes to the 2005 Heisman race, the college football world believed that Bush sewed up the award with his performance in the Trojans' penultimate game of the regular season where they would take on the Fresno State Bulldogs.
USC was ranked #1 with a 10-0 record having won their previous 32 games under head coach Pete Carroll who had the Trojans in the hunt for an unprecedented third straight national championship.
The 2005 season had some bumps in the road including a 38-28 win over Arizona State where the Trojans overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to defeat the Sun Devils(To read about that game click on the link which is highlighted here:https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2022/09/college-football-old-school-game-of_28.html) and a 34-31 win over Notre Dame in one of the greatest games ever played.
In both victories, Bush would come up large as he ran for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the vicotry over Arizona State, then ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns to go along with pushing Leinart into the end zone on the Trojans' game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of the Notre Dame game.
Up to this point in the season, Bush had run for 1,104 yards and scored 13 touchdowns while catching 28 passes for 315 yards and returning kickoffs and occasionally punts.
The Trojans hoped for a big night from Bush as they prepared to host the #16 ranked Fresno State Bulldogs from the Western Athletic Conference who had upset on their minds.
The Bulldogs came into the USC game with a 8-1 record with their only loss being a 37-34 nailbiter to Oregon in the second game of the season.
The Bulldogs were led by head coach Pat Hill, who was in his ninth season at Fresno having led the Bulldogs to six bowl appearances as he had complied a 72-39 record during his time in the Valley.
If the 23-point underdog Bulldogs were going to pull off the giant upset in front of a crowd of nearly 90,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, they somehow would have to contain Bush.
Bush would get his hands on the football as the game began as he returned the opening kickoff 28 yards to the USC 28-yard-line.
However, Bush would not touch the ball on the Trojans' first drive of the game as USC would travel 26 yards in seven plays before punting the ball to the Bulldogs who would take over at their 19-yard-line.
After an one-yard run by Wendell Mathis to start the drive, quarterback Paul Pinegar would complete four of six passes for 63 yards to help drive the Bulldogs to the USC 13-yard-line when Pinegar completed a 12-yard pass to tight end Devyn McDonald who had the football popped out of his hands after a hit by USC defensive back Josh Pinkard, only for wide receiver Jermaine Jamison catch the fumble in midair and dive into the end zone for the touchdown to give Fresno State a 7-0 lead.
Bush would make his presence felt on the Trojans' ensuing possession when he broke loose for a 65-yard run to give USC a 1st & goal at the Fresno State five-yard-line when Bush's partner in crime, running back Lendale White, ran it for the game-tying touchdown midway through the first quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Bulldogs took over at their 35-yard-line as three plays gained nine yards to set up a 4th & 1 where it appeared Fresno State would punt the ball back to the Trojans, only to run a fake as the ball was snapped to strong safety Josh Sherley, who would run for two yards to give Fresno State a fresh set of downs at their 46-yard line as the first quarter came to an end.
Eight plays later, the Bulldogs were back in the end zone as running back Roshon Vercher would punch it in for an one-yard touchdown to give Fresno State a 14-7 lead with 12:07 left in the second quarter.
Bush would return the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to the USC 34-yard-line as Reggie would catch a 12-yard pass from Leinart then ran for 12 yards that with a face mask penalty on Fresno State gave the Trojans a 1st & goal at the Bulldogs' nine-yard-line
But the Trojans could not get it into the end zone as they would settle for a 25-yard field goal by Mario Danelo to cut the Fresno State lead to 14-10 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Bulldogs would start their next possession at their 45-yard-line after a 42-yard return by Adam Jennings on the kickoff as Pinegar would complete all five of his passes for 52 yards on the eight-play, 55-yard drive that culminated with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Pinegar to wide receiver Joe Fernandez to extend the Fresno State lead to 21-10 with 4:08 left before halftime.
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| Fresno State quarterback Paul Pinegar would complete 27 of 45 passes for 317 yards and throw four touchdown passes but would also throw four interceptions. |
Facing their largest deficit since their comeback win over Arizona State, the Trojans would begin their ensuing drive at their 11-yard-line with a 21-yard run by Bush, which was followed by Leinart completing five of his next six passes for 39 yards to help set up a 31-yard field goal by Danielo to trim the deficit to eight points at 21-13 as the first half came to a close.
The Bulldogs would get the ball to start the second half but would end up punting the ball back to the Trojans who would take over at the Fresno State 43-yard-line after a 16-yard return by Bush on the punt.
Following a seven-yard pass from Leinart to fullback Brandon Hancock, Bush would reel off a 35-yard run to put USC at the Fresno State one-yard-line where Leinart would sneak into the end zone to make it an one-point game at 21-20.
The Bulldogs would begin their next drive at their 14-yard-line as a holding penalty would push them back to their six-yard-line where on 3rd & 18, Pinegar would throw it deep only to have Trojans free safety Brandon Ting intercept the pass to give USC the ball at the Fresno State 45-yard-line.
On the very next snap, Bush would run untouched for a 45-yard touchdown to give USC a 27-21 lead with 10:03 to go in the third quarter.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Bulldogs on the first play of their ensuing possession as Pinegar would be picked off by USC strong safety Darnell Bing to give the Trojans the ball at the Fresno State 32-yard-line.
Five plays later, the Trojans were back in the end zone as Leinart completed a six-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Smith to extend USC's lead to 34-21 following the Trojans' third touchdown in a span of three minutes and eight seconds.
After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, the Bulldogs took over at their 35-yard-line as four straight runs by Mathis gained 34 yards to move Fresno State to the USC 31-yard-line as Pinegar would complete an 11-yard pass to running back Matt Rivera, which was followed by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Pinegar to wide receiver Paul Williams to cut the Trojans' lead to 34-28 with 5:39 left in the third quarter.
The Fresno State defense would then hold the Trojans to a three-and-out as the Bulldogs would get the ball back at the USC 30-yard-line after a 57-yard punt return by Jennings.
Three runs by Mathis for a total of 22 yards would put Fresno State at the USC eight-yard-line with a chance to regain the lead when Pinegar would throw his third interception of the quarter as free safety Scott Ware would pick off the pass at the goal line and run it back 30 yards to the Fresno State 30-yard-line where Leinart and the USC offense would take over.
A 13-yard pass to Bush followed by a pass interference penalty on Fresno State put the Trojans at the Bulldogs' 42-yard-line when Leinart was sacked for an eight-yard loss by Bulldogs defensive end Garrett McIntyre to set up 2nd & 18 from the 50-yard-line.
That is when Bush produced his Heisman moment as he took a handoff from Leinart and run to the left side untouched for 25 yards until he made a juke move at the 25-yard-line and cut back across the field as he would run it in for an amazing 50-yard touchdown which increased the Trojans' lead to 41-28 with 75 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs would drive to inside USC territory on their next possession before punting the ball back to the Trojans who would go three-and-out as a 15-yard return by Jennings on the ensuing punt plus a 15-yard personal foul put Fresno State at the USC 15-yard-line.
It would take the Bulldogs six plays to get into the end zone as Pinegar completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Fernandez to bring Fresno State back to within a touchdown at 41-35 with 9:59 left in the fourth quarter.
Bush would get his hands on the football again on the ensuing kickoff only to fumble the football when he was hit by Bulldogs cornerback Marcus McCauley as defensive back Jason Huss would recover the fumble to give Fresno State the ball at the USC 18-yard-line.
That is when Pinegar handed the ball off to Mathis, who ran untouched into the end zone for the 18-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave Fresno State a 42-41 lead with 9:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Bush would atone for his fumble on the Trojans' ensuing possession which began at their 11-yard-line as Bush would start the drive with two runs totaling 25 yards which was followed by a 43-yard reception to give USC a 1st down at the Fresno State 21-yard-line.
Four plays later, White would punch it in for a two-yard touchdown to give USC a 47-42 lead as the Trojans would go for two after the touchdown, which was unsuccessful as Leinart would throw an incomplete pass to keep the score where at 47-42 with 6:22 left in regulation.
Fresno State would begin its next drive at their 21-yard-line as two plays gained only one yard to set up 3rd & 9 when Pinegar lost the football after a sack by USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson as linebacker Brian Cushing would recover the fumble at the Bulldogs' 15-yard-line to give the Trojans an opportunity to put the game away with a touchdown.
After a seven-yard run by Bush on 1st down, the Fresno State defense would clamper down as they held to Bush to zero yards on his next two carries to force a 26-yard field goal by Danielo which extended the Trojans' lead to 50-42 with 3:06 left in regulation as the Bulldogs would have a chance to drive for a touchdown and convert on a two-point conversion that would tie the game.
Starting at their 28-yard-line, the Bulldogs came out throwing as Pinegar completed a four-yard pass to Fernandez which was followed by two straight incompletions to set up a do-or-die 4th & 6 when Pinegar threw a screen pass to Rivera that would go for eight yards to give Fresno State a 1st down at their 40-yard-line.
Pinegar would then complete a five-yard pass to Fernandez which was followed by a 30-yard pass to Rivera to put Fresno State at the USC 25-yard-line when Pinegar throw a pass intended for Williams that would be intercepted by Bing at the goal line as the senior defensive back would run the interception back 40 yards to the Fresno State 40-yard-line with 1:20 left in the game.
As Fresno State had no timeouts, Leinart could take two knees to run out the clock as the Trojans would come away with the 50-42 victory, the 33rd straight win for USC as they improved their 2005 record to 11-0 on a night where Bush accounted for 513 yards as he carried the ball 23 times for 294 yards while catching three passes for 68 yards, returning a punt for 16 yards and seven kickoffs for 136 yards.
While the Bulldogs maintained their #16 ranking despite the loss, they never recovered from the heartbreaking loss as they would lose three final games of the season including a 34-21 loss to Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl to finish the season with a 8-5 record and unranked.
As for Bush and the Trojans, they would destroy crosstown rival UCLA 66-19 to clinch a spot in the BCS National Championship Game while Bush would go on to win the Heisman Trophy one week later.
The Trojans would face the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl where their dreams of a third straight national title would be crushed by Heisman runner-up Vince Young's performance as he threw for 267 yards and ran for 200 yards and scored four touchdowns including the game-winner with 19 seconds left in the game to give Texas a 41-38 win for the Longhorns' first national title since 1970(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2017/09/college-football-old-school-game-of_13.html).
Four years later, the Trojans would be forced to vacate all their wins from the 2005 season after a NCAA investigation found that Bush received improper benefits, including a limousine ride to the 2005 Heisman Trophy ceremony as Bush would also vacate the Heisman Trophy.
However, the NCAA's decision to allow players to make money on their name, image, and likeness or NIL, would lead to Bush being reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner in 2024.
