We Are ND

There is no better feeling than beating an opponent in their stadium - especially one as arrogant as USC that has dominated you for the last eight years. The celebration amongst Irish fans lasted far beyond the final seconds and spilled well outside the confines of the LA Coliseum. The chants of "We Are ND" echoed off the surrounding campus buildings of USC, as Trojan fans huddled around camp fires and sat in their cars, dejected and melancholy.

The IRISH won a thrilling 20-16 come-from-behind victory over the Trojans, scoring the winning touchdown on a 5-yard Robert Hughes rumble with 2:23 to play. It's the first Irish victory over USC since 2001 and capped a three game winning streak for the Irish, who finish their regular season at 7-5 and now await their bowl game destination.


HEISMAN BABY

IRISH DEFENSE - Typically four turnovers in your own territory would doom a team, but not with a stout defense! The Irish D held USC to 16 points on 261 yards. It gets better. The longest USC scoring drive was 18 yards. The others: 15, 3, and 2 yards. The 2-yarder went for a touchdown, and even then, it took USC four tries to score. Needless to say, USC would not have scored a point if not for the Irish turnovers.

MICHAEL FLOYD - 11 rec. for 86 yards - TD - Floyd capped off a great regular season, finishing with 73 receptions for 913 yards and 10 TDs. He is easily the best player on the Irish offense.


ROCK SOLID

CIERRE WOOD - 15 carries for 89 yards - Playing in front of his hometown crowd (Oxnard, CA), Wood was effective when needed most. Wood gained over 80% of his yards on two inside draw hand offs that ultimately led to two touchdowns - one right before halftime and the winning scoring drive.

ROBERT HUGHES - 11 carries for 69 yards - TD - Hughes capped off the winning scoring drive with a 5-yard plunge into the end zone. Hughes was crucial on that drive, providing power in the running game when the Irish offense needed it most.


GET HIM OUTTA THERE

TOMMY REES TURNOVER CRAZE - The Irish QB accounted for all four ND turnovers, including poor throws and a costly fumble. Rees owes everything to the Irish defense for watching his back. All things considered, Rees is 3-0 as a starter, and the led the Irish offense on scoring drives of 79, 62, and 77 yards.


WAIT WHAT?

Three moments from that game stood out to me. The first was when the Irish got the ball back on their own 38 with around 40 seconds to go the 2nd quarter. I was fully expecting Kelly to take a knee and head into the locker room up 7-3. Instead Kelly hands it off to Cierre Wood who rumbles for almost 40 yards and into field goal range. In just 37 seconds, the Irish were up 13-3 heading into the half and poised to receive the ball to open the 3rd quarter.

The second was when USC kicked the go ahead field goal with 6:18 to play in the game. For some odd reason, I felt really comfortable with the position the Irish were in. It's a great feeling to have. After all the turnovers, Notre Dame had the chance to win the football game.

The last was the dropped pass by Ronald Johnson. He was wide open!!!! As the ball was in the air, I thought it was over. But wait, a lucky break for the Irish?! It seems as if everything has gone against the Irish in the past few seasons, but suddenly a big break in our favor!! After that pass, I knew ND would hang on to win one for the record books!


-DH