That ending was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE. :eek:
Best. Fumble. Ever. among other things.
If anyone has this game taped, recorded to DVD-R, TIVO’d, anything, please e-mail me. This is one game I need to archive one way or another. 
Okay, let the grumbling about the Best Fumble Ever commence. 
(The SDMB has done tape exchanges before, right? If this request violates any board rules, feel free to lock this thread with my sincerest apologies.)
It was a crock of shit. A fumble shouldn’t be able to advance a football, including stopping the clock. Otherwise a team trailing late in the game could still work the middle of the field, then just having the WR throw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock.
It must have been god’s will…
I saw USC drive down the field. I saw Matt Leinart run for the endzone. I saw Notre Damn stop him. I saw the clock tick to 0:00 with Notre Dame winning. I saw fans on the field. I knew there was no instant replay, as decided by the visiting team.
Was it all a dream?
The way I understand it, if an offensive player fumbles out of bounds it’s spotted at the furthest point of progress. At least, if the player fumbles forward…not sure about backwards.
Regardless, it was a great college football game.
And major props to Pete C. for going for the win rather than the tie.
And I should add - this was a true fumble, not a case of the player throwing it out of bounds as he fell to the ground.
Incredible game. That 4th and 8 was unbelievable, Leinart had not been throwing well and suddenly with the game on the line he is right on the money.
Regarding the OP, it may end up as an ‘Instant Classic’ on ESPN Classic. Otherwise, another alternative would be to watch for the USC weekly wrap-up show on the Fox Sports Network on dish tv (im assuming they have a wrap-up show - the University of Missouri does, for reasons that escape me). Those shows typically have extensive hi-lights from that week’s game, esp when that team wins.
An amazing game. As an Irish fan, I’m crushed but having just seen an incredible football game, an all-time classic, it lessens the sting a bit. Not much but a bit.
Fuck USC for not covering. Remind me to never buy into the hype again.
A friend of mine mentioned the “Instant Classic” thing but didn’t have time to elucidate. How soon after the original broadcast would an Instant Classic be aired? Looking at the sidebar here, there’s no mention of the USC game (or any other instant classics). Any info would be greatly appreciated. 
In college football, if the offensive player fumbles the ball forward the ball and it rolls out of bounds, it is spotted where the player fumbled. Unless it goes backwards, then it’s where the ball rolled out.
There are exceptions if the officials feel that the ball was deliberately fumbled out of bounds to save time. That’s a 5-yard penalty and loss of down. And the clock keeps moving.
On fourth down fumbles, only the player who fumbled can advance the ball.
It certainly was an incredible game. I was rooting for the Irish to knock USC off its pedestal, but unfortunately, the ND secondary doesn’t think they should go for the ball on a Hail Mary 4th and 9, so I can’t really say anything.
Thought it was a VERY gutsy move going for the win on the goal line with 7 seconds left and no timeouts. Can you imagine the crap USC would have gotten if Leinart hadn’t gotten in the end zone? Chip shot field goal to tie, and he goes for win or lose. Wow.
This also points to one of the major flaws in the BCS (of many). Because ND now has a loss…they are a long shot to play in the national championship, yet they’ve obviously proven that they are easily the equal of USC. NCAA D-I NEDS A PLAYOFF NOW. Automatic bid for major conference champions - at large bids to round out the field to 16, play for the title. It would be bigger than March Madness, and it would be so much fun to watch.
Typically from what I remember in the past, “Instant Classics” run the following Friday evening (I believe the LSU-Arizona State game was an “Instant Classic” earlier this year). However, the hitch in this idea is that the game wasn’t run on one of the ESPNs or one of ESPN’s corporate partners. I think it is unlikely that the NBC broadcast would show up on ESPN.
Agreed. Of course, you could argue that a tie might have knocked them from the #1 spot, which doesn’t make sense. If anything, Notre Dame’s ranking should jump UP several spots. Yesterday, they were every bit the equal of USC.
Don’t know what was wrong with Leinart.
There are no ties in college football you know.
The game would have just gone into overtime.
Instant replay, or lack thereof, had nothing to do with it. After Leinart fumbled, the line judge was signalling for the clock to stop. The clock operator never stopped it, so the officials conferred, and got the call right. No instant replay required, and something that happens in many a football game (although not many in such late game situations, or with such national implications - but that’s because those particular games are few and far between).
I’m not challenging the call. I was just explaining how unbelievably close ND came to the upset.
I wonder if you’d say that Ole Miss was the equal of Alabama and thus should be in the Top 15 this week ;).
Notre Dame played well, but they WERE at home and grew the grass to jungle lengths. I don’t think the game would have been as close in a neutral site with the grass mowed to reasonable lengths. And rivalry games do tend to be closer.
I’d probably have Notre Dame drop a few spots to 11 (or 12 as it is in the Coaches Poll). They’ve lost twice, and one was to a Michigan State team that no one considers the equal of USC.
When I saw that the clock was still running I was screaming at the TV for the official to place the ball so SC could at least have a chance. It wasn’t until a replay that I saw the official on the sidelines signaling stop the clock. That was, for sure, the most intense 7 seconds that I have been through all week.