Few rivalries in college football capture the pageantry, pride, and pure emotion quite like Notre Dame vs. USC. Every meeting between these two storied programs feels like a chapter in an epic novel—written in gold helmets and cardinal jerseys, under bright lights and brighter expectations. The 1989 showdown in South Bend was no exception. It had everything you could ask for in a classic: drama, controversy, comebacks, and one unforgettable finish that cemented its place among the greatest games
ever played in this historic series.
The below excerpt, written by Dan Flynn, came from the 1989 Scholastic Magazine Football Review (Vol. 131, No. 11).
A Game For the Ages
Notre Dame and Southern Cal provide another thrilling moment in a classic rivalry
BY DAN FLYNN
Before the 1989 chapter of Notre Dame-USC football was written, the rivalry between these two perennial collegiate heavyweights had already been called the greatest inter-sectional competition in college football. This year’s game did nothing but enhance that reputation.
The 61st, and possibly the greatest meeting between the teams had all the elements of a classic football game: big offensive plays, goal-line stands, controversy and unfortunately, a pre-game fight which in the end overshadowed Notre Dame’s remarkable 28-24 victory.
After the game, naturally, each side felt the other was at fault for the pre-game fisticuffs. Some Irish players went so far as to blame Southern Cal coaches for taunting the Notre Dame band.
In the end, it was Lou Holtz who took responsibility for his team’s part in the fracas. “I sincerely apologize to Southern Cal,” he said after the game. “I promise this will never happen again at Notre Dame, regardless of who is at fault.”
Soon after all the taunts, accusations and stories had been traded, it was fullback Anthony Johnson who probably summed up the tunnel tussle most accurately. “It was something we didn’t want to get involved with,” said Johnson. “Adrenaline is high and people’s emotion takes over.”
Emotion certainly did take over during the game, especially for Notre Dame. After sleepwalking through much of the first half, they found themselves trailing the Trojans. 17-7. However, the Irish received a rather
rude, but nonetheless timely wake-up call in the form of a USC serenade.
The Trojans reportedly sang a mocking rendition of the Notre Dame fight song to the Irish as both teams headed off to the locker room at the half. If anything, it only served to stir the slumbering Irish.
The Irish appeared fired up to open the second half as the defense led the charge. On USC’s first possession, cornerback Todd Lyght shoved tight end Scott Galbraith back two yards after what appeared to be a certain
first down at the USC 20. Notre Dame received a favorable call, however, and the Trojans were forced to punt. The Irish got the ball back at midfield, where they needed slightly more than four minutes and eight plays to punch it in. Ricky Watters went the final two yards on a pitch from quarterback Tony Rice as the Irish cut the
Trojan lead to three.
Later in the third quarter, Lyght again made the big play. After Rice fumbled the ball deep in Notre Dame territory, quarterback Todd Marinovich (333 yards passing on the day) threw the last of his three
interceptions. Lyght stepped in front of Marinovich’s pass in the end zone after the ball was tipped by linebacker Donn Grimm.
With the Notre Dame defense making all the big plays, the Irish offense waited until early in the fourth quarter to go to work. They drove 80 yards to put the Irish on top for the first time in the contest.
Even this drive, however, was set up by the defense. After Grimm and Ned Bolcar sacked Marinovich
and forced USC to punt, the Irish ground game moved the ball successfully against the vaunted Southern Cal rush defense and were at the USC 35 when Holtz wanted his team to “just get a first down.”
What Holtz received was a 35-yard touchdown gallop on third and one from Johnson.
“It was just an off-tackle play designed to get the first down,” said Johnson, who rushed 13 times on the day for 78 yards.
The game was an emotional ride. Unfortunately, Johnson became seasick on the next series. After catapulting his team ahead and rushing for almost more yards on one play (35) than the Trojan defense had given up per game (36), the usually sure-handed fullback fumbled at the Irish 34 and USC’s Brian Tuliau recovered.
Johnson’s miscue opened the door and Marinovich kicked it in, wasting no time in putting USC back on top. In just four plays the Trojans struck paydirt, Marinovich hitting Brad Wellman on third down from 15
yards out for the score.
Trailing 24-21, it seemed like the Irish had finally done themselves in. One too many turnovers and one too many touchdown passes from golden-armed Marinovich. But as quickly as Notre Dame can convince you it let the big one get away, their Heisman hopeful quarterback always seems to grasp and, somehow, create another big moment.
Surprisingly, Rice did it this time with his throwing arm. For three quarters, the Irish quarterback completed just four of 15 passes and had turned the ball over twice. Then, with nine minutes to play and the Irish trailing, Rice grabbed his magic wand and waved it over the 80 yards of Notre Dame Stadium turf separating his team from the goal line.
On second and eight from the Notre Dame 44, after four consecutive running plays, Rice threw his first pass of the quarter a perfectly lofted strike to Raghib Ismail, who beat All-America safety Cleveland Colter. Catching the ball in full stride, Ismail carried it to the Trojan 15. On the next play, Rice optioned left, broke two tackles and dragged Colter into the end zone with 5:18 to play.
The Irish offense had put together a scoring drive when the team needed it the most. Notre Dame rushed for 197 of its 266 yards on the day in the second half, and the offensive line gave Rice all the time he needed to find the streaking Ismail for the long gainer.
It was the defense, however, that would end up saving the game with a stand of its own- one of the goal-line variety.
USC, led by the surprising poise of the young Marinovich, did not stop pressing the Notre Dame lead. Behind Marinovich, the Trojans closed in fast. From their own 37, four short passes got USC to the Irish 10. After a five-yard run and two incompletions, the Irish defense tightened and tacked on another big play to its ever-expanding list. On fourth down, Marinovich felt the pressure of defensive-end Scott Kowalkowski and threw to the middle of the end zone, where D’Juan Francisco batted it down.
The Trojans nevertheless refused to concede defeat and found themselves with yet another chance to pull the game out in the closing moments, but a Hail Mary pass fell short as Irish won their 19th straight.
“This was a great game,” said USC Read Coach Larry Smith. “It was a very intense game. I think everyone watching was entertained. It was college football at its best.”
Holtz agreed with Smith’s assessment, but admitted that “it seemed like we were fighting uphill all day.”
For the most part, the Irish were. Two fumbles by Ismail, one on a kickoff and the other on a punt, left the Irish in 7-0 and 14-7 holes early in the contest.
In the end though, the Irish surged to their seventh win of the season behind a stingy second-half defense and an opportunistic offense. Once more, Notre Dame and Southern Cal truly gave us a game for the ages.
Looking back, the 1989 Notre Dame–USC clash was more than just another Irish victory—it was a defining moment in a golden era. It embodied Lou Holtz’s trademark grit, the resilience of a championship team, and the unbreakable will that defined Notre Dame football at the close of the ’80s. The Irish didn’t just win their 19th straight that day—they reminded everyone why this rivalry endures: because when Notre Dame and USC meet, history always finds a way to take the field.
