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Irish almost create upset

David Grimes, top, of Notre Dame, works to run past safety Darnell Bing, bottom, of the University of Southern California in South Bend, Indiana, Saturday. PHOTO: AFP

Matt Leinart launched himself toward the end zone with Southern Cal's winning streak and its No. 1 ranking hanging in the balance.

Swarmed by Notre Dame just short, the ball went shooting out of bounds and the clock ticked down to 0:00.

On the sideline, Charlie Weis raised his arms in what he thought was victory, sending the Fighting Irish and their joyous fans pouring onto the field.

Sorry, Charlie. The Trojans weren't done.

After USC coach Pete Carroll sprinted down the field to plead his case, officials put 7 seconds back on the clock and the ball inside the 1.

With another chance, Leinart pushed and spun his way into the end zone with 3 seconds left to cap a thrilling but chaotic finish as USC escaped with its 28th straight victory, a back-and-forth 34-31 win Saturday over No. 9 Notre Dame.

"You gotta believe you're going to win the way that happened," Carroll said.

The Irish (4-2), dressed for success in kelly green jerseys, tested the two-time defending champs as the Trojans had never been during their 2 1/2 season run of excellence. But in the end, Notre Dame couldn't come up with one last stop.

Steve Breaston, center, of the University of Michigan returns a kick against Penn State in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Saturday. The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions 27-25. PHOTO: AFP

"The reaction of the fans being on the field and then seeing how you kind of want it to come out, then seeing the exact opposite all in a matter of minutes," Irish quarterback Brady Quinn said. "People were pretty shocked and devastated."

Leinart had the option to spike the ball on the goal line play to regroup his team or go with what he had. He chose the latter, took it in himself over the left side and got a little help moving the pile from star tailback Reggie Bush.

"I used all 200 pounds of my body to push Matt in," said Bush, who ran for 160 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns.

Carroll said USC (6-0) never considered settling for a field goal attempt to send it to overtime.

"We'll be happy to leave South Bend," he said.

Quinn had given Notre Dame a 31-28 lead with 2:02 left, dashing around right end for a 5-yard touchdown, extending his right arm across the goal line with the ball.

But Leinart answered when it looked most bleak for USC, completing a 61-yard pass to Dwayne Jarrett on a fourth-and-9 at his own 26.

"You just have to throw it up and hope he gets it," Leinart said. "I'll take my chances with [Jarrett] against anyone in the country. He made a play."

Then Leinart called his own number for the winner.

"I just saw it, I thought it was there and I just wanted to get in," Leinart said. "I didn't want to spike the ball so I made the choice and they were looking down from up above and we got in. That was all that mattered."

He sat on the bench after his score, helmet still on, looking exhausted and waiting for a final kickoff that Notre Dame couldn't turn into a miracle.

"I had no doubt," Bush said. "We never gave up and kept fighting. That's why we're the No. 1 team in the country."

Thanks to the bizarre ending, sports fans saw an it's-over-no-it's-not game on national TV for the second time in a week. The other was Game 2 of the ALCS.

Weis tapped into the Fighting Irish's past and even in defeat etched a spot in it for himself and his team. He broke out all the stops, bringing in "Rudy" and Joe Montana to fire up his team and the fans in Friday night's pep rally, then sent the Irish off in good-luck green after warm-ups on Saturday.

"They worked so hard preparing for this game," Weis said. "I thought I'd give them something back."

The Trojans trailed at the half for the third time this season, this time by 21-14 after Tom Zbikowski's 60-yard punt return early in the second quarter gave the Irish their first lead.

But Bush tied the game with a 45-yard scoring gallop early in the third. His second long TD of the game put him over 100 yards rushing for the fifth straight game.

Notre Dame got the lead back with a field goal seconds into the fourth quarter, then D.J. Fitzpatrick missed from 34 yards when the Irish could have gone up by six.

Bush struck again, going around the corner from 9 yards out with about five minutes left to make it 28-24.

Then it was Quinn's turn to have a Heisman moment.

He guided the Irish on an 87-yard drive, completing all three of his passes and finally putting Notre Dame up with 2:02 left.

Quinn finished 19-for-35 for 264 yards.

"If you're waiting for me to say it's a good loss, you won't hear that here," Weis said.

No. 2 Texas 42, No. 24 Colorado 17

At Austin, Texas, Vince Young ran for three touchdowns, passed for two more and No. 2 Texas enjoyed a convincing win over No. 24 Colorado, and its best start since 1983.

Texas (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) played its best half of football of the season to quickly put the game away.

Michigan 27, No. 8 Penn St. 25

At Ann Arbor, Michigan, Chad Henne threw his second touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, from 10 yards out with no time left to lift the Wolverines to a thrilling 27-25 victory over the Nittany Lions, whose first loss this season was their seventh straight in the series.

The Wolverines (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) avoided their worst record in mid-October since 1967 and knocked Penn State (6-1, 3-1) out of sole possession of first place in the conference.

Michael Robinson scored his second touchdown with 53 seconds left to give the Nittany Lions a 25-21 lead, but Steve Breaston returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield to set up the game-winning score.

A second was left on the clock when Henne took the last snap and connected with Manningham in the middle of the end zone.

No. 15 Ohio St. 35,
No. 16 Michigan St. 24

At Columbus, Ohio, Troy Smith threw three long touchdown passes and Ashton Youboty returned a blocked field-goal attempt 72 yards for a score on the final play of the first half to lead Ohio State over Michigan State (4-2, 1-2 Big Ten) in a game in which the Buckeyes didn't run a play in Spartans territory until just over 5 minutes remained.

Ohio State's (4-2, 2-1) defense set a school record by sacking Spartans quarterback Drew Stanton 12 times for 58 yards in losses. Bobby Carpenter led the way with four sacks.

No. 23 Wisconsin 38,
No. 22 Minnesota 34

At Minneapolis, Jonathan Casillas blocked a punt and Ben Strickland recovered it in the end zone with 30 seconds left to complete a stunning rally for Wisconsin (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten). Laurence Maroney rushed for a career-high 258 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown, for the Gophers (5-2, 2-2).
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