USC vs. Notre Dame – Some Final Thoughts

It’s been a few days since that great game and crushing loss (for us ND fans). I’ve been thinking about that game a great deal and I would like to share some of my thoughts.

First off I need to address the way the game ended.

Some ND fans feel a bit cheated because of the way the officials called those last few minutes. On that final drive they called a ticky-tack personal foul that kept the Trojan drive alive. And on that play where Leinart fumbled out of bounds – the ball was fumbled backwards. Leinart ended up at the one but the ball went out at the two or three yard line. The ball was placed incorrectly by the officials and that’s what made Leinart’s QB keeper possible.

Let me elaborate. Leinart’s forward progress was to the one yard line but if the refs are going by forward progress the clock does not stop and the game is over and Notre Dame wins. If the refs call a fumble and stop the clock – they need to mark the ball where it went out of bounds. I don’t think they did and if it is 2-yards or more then maybe Leinart doesn’t try a QB sneak and USC settles for a field goal. In overtime it’s a whole new ballgame.

The placement of the ball that was knocked out of bounds is something that’s covered by instant replay. This game did not feature instant replay because Pete Carroll had the option and he vote against it. He’s lucky that he did.

On that final play some writers are giving Carroll credit for going for the win instead of a tie. The fact is Carroll was going for a tie. He wanted Leinart to spike the ball so the kicking team could come on. Leinart and Reggie Bush decided they knew better and instead went for the TD. This play is going to come back to haunt Pete Carroll.

Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush are extremely talented (Bush more so than Leinart in my opinion but I’ll get to that in a moment). What they did on that final play was an act of insubordination – an act of mutiny if you will. They decided that they knew better than their superior officer / captain (Coach Carroll) and flagrantly disobeyed him. Luckily for them – they were successful and they provided a legendary ending to a legendary game.

What about the Leinart and Bush wannabe’s though? Leinart and Bush are legendary now for what they did at the end of this game and USC thrives as a program because they get players who want to be legends. The ego on these players will make them think that they are bigger than the program and certainly bigger than Coach Carroll. I’m predicting that you will start to see more open insubordination in the USC program now that Leinart and Bush have shown they can get away with it and be rewarded (none of the Leinart / Bush wannabe’s will allow the thought of failure to enter their mind – they will just see the glory in their minds an won’t see the ramifications of their inevitable failure). The dam has been cracked.

As far as the QB match-up was concerned – put me in the camp of those who think that Brady Quinn showed more tools that will make him successful in the Pro’s. Leinart’s long throws just seem to float too much. A Reggie Bush or the other great USC receivers can make mask this issue because they are much superior to the DB’s who are covering him. The DB’s are much better in the Pro’s and Leinart won’t be able to get away with many of the floaters he throws.

Brady Quinn looks like the real deal. And I don’t care what the scouts say – those same scouts picked 6 QB’s before Dan Marino the year he was drafted and they didn’t think Tom Brady was worth drafting at all.

Notre Dame is back!