By Rich Hammond, The Orange County Register –
LOS ANGELES — Notre Dame fans still cringe at the memory of USC’s game-winning “Bush Push” in 2005. Now, Trojan fans can commiserate. They have the Lane Pain, and it’s not likely to be eased any time soon.
In a fitting ending to a maddening regular season, the Trojans self-imploded at the exact moment when they could have turned frustration into joy. Trailing by nine points with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, USC completed a deep pass to the Notre Dame 2. The Coliseum rocked with hope and anticipation.
Would it be possible? Could freshman Max Wittek lift the Trojans to an emotional, historic victory?
No. It all crumbled. Eight times, the Trojans lined up for plays, and they didn’t score a single point. Notre Dame staged a goal-line defensive stand for the ages, capped by a fourth-and-two-inch stop, and the No. 1-ranked Fighting Irish beat USC 22-13 before 93,607 to likely clinch a spot in the BCS championship.
The Trojans, who started the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, are left to ponder how they ended up 7-5. While the Fighting Irish are living the good BCS life in Miami, the Trojans face the probability of playing their bowl game in a partially full stadium in El Paso, Las Vegas or, if they’re lucky, San Diego.
“Things just didn’t go our way,” senior running back Curtis McNeal said softly. “They just didn’t. I guess it just wasn’t in the cards for us.”
USC coach Lane Kiffin has already been assured that he will return next season, and that won’t make the holiday season any brighter for most USC fans. Assuming Athletic Director Pat Haden doesn’t have a change of heart, Kiffin is the Trojans’ steward—for better or worse—for at least the next 12 months.
Asked what his message to USC fans would be, Kiffin said, “I’m disappointed, too. I heard them. I feel them. Those aren’t our standards here, regardless of the amount of scholarships or any of those things that we’re under. We’ve got to do better, and obviously that starts with me.”
Bet on changes being made. Notre Dame’s offense, not exactly considered a dynamic unit, put up 439 yards on USC, which did not force a turnover. The Trojans’ defense started slow, as has been its habit in many games this season and USC was unable to completely rally from a 10-0 first-quarter deficit.
The smart money is that Kiffin’s father, Monte, the assistant head coach and architect of the defense, will either retire or take a different job that doesn’t directly involve coaching. Monte Kiffin turns 73 in February and teams, either with spread or conventional offenses, often moved the ball with ease against USC.
But what about the offensive side? The Trojans, with weapons at quarterback, running back and receiver that would have made a couple NFL teams blush, underachieved on offense. Will Kiffin be forced to hire an offensive coordinator?
Yes, the Trojans gave Wittek, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman from Mater Dei High, his first career start in an extraordinarily difficult situation Saturday. Wittek replaced senior Matt Barkley, who suffered a shoulder injury last week, and had to face the Notre Dame defense, which had allowed only eight touchdowns in 11 games.
Wittek made his share of mistakes Saturday, but none were unexpected. He threw two interceptions and looked out of sync with top receiver Marqise Lee, who caught only five balls, but Wittek showed admirable poise and great arm strength as he completed 14 of 23 attempts for 186 yards and one touchdown.
What will be remembered, fairly or unfairly, is the sequence in which USC couldn’t put the ball in the end zone from within spitting distance.
Notre Dame’s fifth field goal of the game, with 5:58 remaining, gave Notre Dame a 22-13 lead and took some life out of the Coliseum, but it got restored when Lee returned the ensuing kickoff 43 yards, and then when Wittek and Lee connected on a 53-yard pass down to the USC 2.
A false start, followed by a three-yard run by McNeal, put the ball at the Notre Dame 4. Consecutive pass-interference calls put it at the 1. Then, against a ferocious Notre Dame defensive front, perhaps the best front seven in the country, Kiffin called three consecutive plays up the gut and essentially got nothing.
“They let you know you’re not coming through the middle,” McNeal said of Notre Dame’s defense. “We were trying. It just wasn’t working. Our linemen were doing the best they could. We only had five linemen on the field. It was like they had about nine D-linemen on the field. They’re going to win that battle.
Wittek was stopped twice on quarterback-sneak attempts, and Kiffin had to burn a timeout in the process. McNeal got stuffed at the line and then, on fourth and one, Kiffin eschewed a field goal, which would have made it a six-point game. Wittek’s play-action pass went off the fingertips of fullback Soma Vainuku.
“It’s so hard to score touchdowns against them, and the ball is on the two-inch line,” Kiffin said, when asked why he didn’t kick a field goal. “You think that you can score touchdowns from there. If the ball is on the 5, then you kick the field goal and try to get the onside (kick). You’d like to think, with that many snaps from there, that you could score a touchdown.”
