Greatest Plays of the Weis Era - #3 - Quinn Puts Notre Dame Ahead

There is no argument that the Notre Dame - USC matchup in 2005 was one of the greatest college football contests of the last decade. The Trojans came into the game ranked number one in the country with a 6-0 record, while the Irish were considered upstarts with a 4-1 record and number nine ranking.

The crazy moments from this game will be discussed for many more years to come. Tom Zbikowski's punt return, the missed placement of a fumble at the end of the game, the help Matt Leinart received to score the winning touchdown and the infamous fourth-down conversion play.

What Notre Dame fans really want to remember from the game is that the Irish went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams of the decade for 60 minutes and set a performance standard that the team has been striving to match over the past four years.

To set the stage for Brady Quinn's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Irish had either held the lead or been tied with USC since Zbikowski's punt return in the second quarter. A touchdown run by Reggie Bush suddenly put the Irish behind for the first time since the first quarter, but USC's lead would quickly evaporate...

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Notre Dame football
• Brady Quinn
• Jeff Samardzija
• Anthony Fasano
• Maurice Stovall
• Notre Dame USC 2005
• und.com
• Darius Walker