Sunday, October 16th
Tested like never before, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Southern California showed they have a championship jaw to go along with all that talent in a game that lived up to the hype.
MORENotre Dame's loss to Southern California didn't hurt the Fighting Irish in The Associated Press Top 25. Nor did the Trojans take a hit from voters for needing a dramatic comeback to win their 28th straight game.
MORESaturday, October 15th
Tested like never before, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Southern California showed they have a championship jaw to go along with all that talent in a game that lived up to the hype.
MOREReggie Bush couldn't control his emotions. Matt Leinart had a hard time, too. Both had Heisman moments in a highly touted matchup.
MOREFriday, October 14
It started long before there was a bandwagon. Months before Tyrone Willingham's first hint that his job was in jeopardy.
MORENeither team was ranked, but this one still stands out. After falling behind 24-3 in the third quarter, Notre Dame decided to stage a comeback of their own. When Jabari Holloway scored the winning touchdown by recovering a Jarious Jackson fumble in the end zone after a mad scramble for the loose ball, the Irish completed the biggest comeback in Notre Dame history.
MOREThe story may seem familiar to USC: A first-time college head coach on his way to leading a revival of a former national power. The top-ranked Trojans know where their story has taken them and, in this 79-year rivalry, don't want be the team that gives Notre Dame that chance to get back to the top.
MORENo. 1 USC has won 27 straight games and is averaging 51 points per game. And here's how the Trojans can be beaten Saturday at Notre Dame, with some words of wisdom from former Washington coach Don James, who is taking part in the Master Coaches Survey and has watched all of USC's games.
MOREThursday, October 13
Notre Dame is college football. It is Rockne, Rudy and autumn Saturdays in South Bend. The Fighting Irish are "America's Team," despite what fans of almost every other football-playing school will scream. It goes back before you and I walked the earth, and it seems likely to continue for decades to come.
MOREThe only 1 vs. 2 matchup between the two storied programs was played without two of Notre Dame's best players, when Lou Holtz left suspended running backs Tony Brooks and Ricky Watters behind in South Bend.
MOREThe clichés have been written -- the stories about riding the bike to practice are overdone. Even the "surfer" and "laidback" and "player's coach" labels wear a bit thin. What we know of Pete Carroll is what we see of him on television, what we read in the daily sports pages.
MOREWednesday, October 12
Remember Super Bowl XXXVI? In that game, the New England Patriots, with an offensive coordinator named Charlie Weis, were supposed to have no chance against the mighty St. Louis Rams.
MOREAfter watching Notre Dame race out to a 24-0 lead before the first half was over, USC ran off 55 unanswered points against the top-ranked defense in the country.
MOREWith their 42-21 win over the Arizona Wildcats Saturday, the Trojans extended their win streak to 27 games. There is only one word to describe this team, dominant.
MORE"Well, good morning, slash good afternoon. This is going to take a few minutes for us before we get going with questions because I have a number of things to talk about with our opponent this week."
MORE"This is a wonderful opportunity. It is a great matchup for college football, for those former players from both schools that love this game, and for the fans. It is a beautiful opportunity for us to match it up."
MORETuesday, October 11
A lot has happened in the last four or five years. Namely, a winner named Pete Carroll has taken his offbeat sense of fun back to the college game and turned USC back into a national power.
MOREA six touchdown performance by Trojan tailback Anthony Davis spurred top-ranked USC to a rout of Notre Dame.
MOREAn MRI on Reggie Bush's right knee revealed only a bruise and no major damage and he will practice today said USC coach Pete Carroll.
MORENotre Dame entered the season with one of its deepest receiving groups in quite some time, as Rhema McKnight, Maurice Stovall, Matt Shelton and Jeff Samardzija all had talent and experience.
MOREMonday, October 10
The way recruiting expert Tom Lemming tells the story, Southern California's rise from blip on the college football radar screen to bona fide dynasty was almost immediate.
MOREThe Irish were undefeated and number one in the country. But a 15 yard TD pass from Craig Fertig to Rod Sherman on 4th and 8 and 1:34 to go brought USC all the way back.
MOREIf any of you are still concerned about USC's slow starts--don't be. They can fix that on a dime and, I promise, will do so next week in South Bend.
MOREAfter being tested in the first half by Oregon and virtually all game by Arizona State, the last thing top-ranked USC wanted -- or probably expected -- was to find itself with a ballgame against Arizona.
MOREWhen Notre Dame plays host to USC on Saturday, the Trojans won't have the market cornered on Heisman Trophy candidates.
MOREThe No. 1 team played like a one-win team Saturday, holding off Arizona with a 21-point victory that was as impressive as a Matt Leinart scramble.
MOREThe stats were there, but the typical Trojan blowout took much longer than expected.
MORESunday, October 9
USC's 27-game winning streak is the stuff of legends. When the Trojans face off against Notre Dame Saturday in South Bend, The Streak seems simultaneously more solid and more susceptible than ever before.
MOREThe game was for the National Championship, but was over right after halftime. Of course, that was about right for the 1947 edition of the Irish.
MORECSTV.com looks at some of the great streaks in college football history, and takes a detailed glance at the USC run
MOREEven as the No. 1 team in the country, Southern California has things to work on. Like too many penalties and those slow starts that force the undefeated Trojans to rally.
MOREUSC and Notre Dame meet for the 77th time in the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football. This is the 30th time that both teams enter the game ranked by AP and the 17th when both are in the Top 10.
MORE