Fresno State Athletics
July 3: Dogs Nearly Upset No. 1 USC
7/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 3, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State Athletics has had many memorable moments during its history. Each day during the month of July, Gobulldogs.com will highlight a great moment from Fresno State Athletics history.
No. 1 USC got a major scare.
Fresno State, which led 21-13 at halftime and rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to take a late 42-41 lead, gave USC all it could handle on Nov. 20, 2005. In the end, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush ran for a career-high 294 yards on 23 carries and scored twice, leading the Trojans to a wild 50-42 victory over No. 16 Fresno State and keeping their hopes alive for an unprecedented third straight national championship.
"I am extremely proud of the way we played tonight; we left it all out on the field. USC was very resilient and showed why they have won 33 games in a row. We really just ran out of time. Tonight I thought our team showed how well we match up against the best team in the country," said head coach Pat Hill after the game. "Our kids have great character. We don't have a chip on our shoulder and we are no longer the little guy trying to knock off the big guy. This is a great football team and tonight we played the toughest team in the nation on their turf and lost by eight."
Bush, a Heisman finalist as a sophomore in 2004, also caught three passes for 68 yards and set a Pac-10 record with 513 all-purpose yards, easily breaking the USC standard of 368 set by Anthony Davis against Notre Dame in 1972.
The win was the 33rd straight for USC and its 26th in a row at the Los Angeles Coliseum, where a crowd of 90,007 watched the 23-point underdog Bulldogs give the Trojans all they could handle.
USC kept its streak alive Oct. 15 by scoring on a 1-yard run by Matt Leinart with 3 seconds remaining for a 34-31 victory at Notre Dame. This game came close to rivaling that one in fourth-quarter drama.
Fresno State scored twice in a span of 12 seconds to take a 42-41 lead with 9:47 left. After Paul Pinegar's 6-yard touchdown pass to Joe Fernandez, Bush made perhaps his only mistake of the game, fumbling the ensuing kickoff. Jason Huss recovered, and Wendell Mathis ran 18 yards for a touchdown on the next play.
The Trojans then moved 89 yards to take a 47-42 lead, scoring on a 2-yard run by LenDale White before a two-point conversion attempt failed. Big play of the drive was a 43-yard pass from Leinart to Bush, putting the ball at the Fresno State 21. Three plays later, Lawrence Jackson sacked Pinegar and forced a fumble, which Brian Cushing recovered at the Fresno State 15. That set up a 26-yard field goal by Mario Danelo with 3:06 to play to complete the scoring.
The Bulldogs moved to the USC 25 before Darnell Bing intercepted a pass by Pinegar at the goal line and returned it 40 yards. The Trojans then ran out the clock. Leinart completed 22 of 33 passes for 200 yards and one touchdown. Pinegar was 27-of-45 for 317 yards and four TDs with four interceptions. Mathis gained 109 yards on 23 carries.
Pinegar passed for 203 yards and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs took a 21-13 halftime lead - the fourth time USC has trailed at the half this season. The Trojans responded by scoring three times in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the third period on a 1-yard sneak by Leinart, a 45-yard run by Bush and a 6-yard pass from Leinart to Steve Smith. Interceptions by Brandon Ting and Bing set up two of the TDs.
The Bulldogs drew within six points on a 20-yard pass from Pinegar to Paul Williams, and had a chance to take the lead after a 57-yard punt return by Adam Jennings. But on third-and-goal from the 8, Scott Ware intercepted Pinegar's pass at the goal line and returned it 30 yards. That set up a 50-yard scoring run by Bush, putting USC ahead 41-28 late in the third quarter.
Fresno State moved 81 yards on its first possession to take a 7-0 lead, scoring when Jermaine Jamison caught Devyn McDonald's fumble at the 1 and went into the end zone to complete a 13-yard pass play.
USC needed less than 2 1/2 minutes to tie the game, getting a 5-yard touchdown run from White one play after Bush broke loose for a 65-yard run.
Fresno State faked a punt from its 44 on the last play of the first quarter, and it worked as Josh Sherley gained 2 yards in a fourth-and-1 situation. That was the key play in a 65-yard drive capped by Roshon Vercher's 1-yard run that put the Bulldogs on top 14-7.
The game marked the second time in school history that Fresno State faced off against the nation's No. 1 team. The Bulldogs played at No. 1 Oklahoma on Sept. 13, 2003.
Fresno State was making its first-ever appearance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (capacity- 92,000), representing just the third time in school history the `Dogs have played in front of a crowd of over 90,000. It was the third-largest crowd to witness a Fresno State football game.
Fresno State's 42 points were the most that USC allowed during its 33-game winning streak and most allowed by a Pete Carroll-coached team at USC.
Bulldog fans numbers in the 10s of thousands at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum.
That game continues to be talked about as one of the best games of the decade, and has been replayed many times nationally each year as a college football classic on Fox Sports Net.
"Fresno State did a terrific job," said Carroll after the game." Their offensive staff did a great job. But their running game today shouldn't happen. It was uncharacteristic of us. However, they are a good football team. No question, they should be in the top-10."
Coming tomorrow: Amanda Scott and Jamie Southern earn NCAA Top VIII Awards.
"We Are Your Team" - For Fresno State ticket information log onto gobulldogs.com or call 559-278-DOGS.
