Matt Leinart Supports the Tush Push

The “Tush Push” or “Brotherly Shove” perfected by Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles has become a controversial topic. But opinion over whether or not the play belongs in football hasn’t yet matched the level of contention caused by one of the most infamous moments in college football history: The Bush Push.

Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart still remembers how much debate was sparked over his game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame in October 2005. “There’s only been a handful of plays that have resulted in that,” he told The Messenger.

Facing second-and-goal from the 1-yard line with seven seconds left while trailing by three, Leinart attempted to sneak behind the USC offensive line into the end zone, but was stopped in his tracks. Leinart stumbled left and running back Reggie Bush shoved him into the end zone for the score.

Critics contend Bush committed an illegal assist — one that kept the Trojans’ undefeated start intact. The NFL, however, made pushing offensive players legal in 2005, making the Eagles’ push-play legal.

“We kind of were like the architect for that,” Leinart says. “To see what the Eagles have done with that, it’s interesting. There’s a lot of backlash. I’m not sure if it’s gonna be around next year or the year after, but I’ve told Reggie, I think we were a part of history.”

Unsurprisingly, Leinart is pro-Tush Push. “I think it’s a football play,” he says. “You gotta learn how to stop it. If you can’t stop it, that’s your loss.” His score back in 2005 was the most dramatic moment of the Trojans’ season before reaching the national championship against Vince Young and Texas.

Leinart faced plenty of expectations going into that 2005 season after leading USC to a national championship and securing a Heisman Trophy as a junior. Only 17 of the 85 Heisman Trophy winners have returned to play college football the year after, including current USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The junior signal-caller had said he wanted to achieve college football immortality by winning a second Heisman and a national championship this year. At 7-2, dreams of a title appear out the window, but Leinart says the Trojans can still fight for the Pac-12 crown, despite the team’s inconsistent play.

“I think there’s been a lot — almost too much — on Caleb’s plate where he feels like he has to be Superman all the time,” Leinart says. “I mean, he is that good! But I think USC has fallen kind of trap to that a little bit. ‘Hey, we have the best player. We’re gonna just rely on him to be who he is.’”

Leinart believes Williams will be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. More importantly, he says, Williams has been great for USC football” and crucially has “helped get USC kind of back on the map because we were off the map for a long time there.”

USC fell from prominence a few years after Leinart and Bush left in 2005. Carroll strung three straight 11-plus-win seasons before winning nine in 2009. Carroll departed for the NFL, and a revolving door of replacements never could lift the program back to the heights he achieved. An athletics scandal — which included a two-year postseason ban, vacated games, reduced scholarships and Bush giving up his Heisman — derailed any chance of momentum for USC to be revived.

The Trojans are still working towards recapturing the allure of Carroll’s Trojans under Lincoln Riley, coming as close as they have since Carroll’s departure. 

“When I go back to my time at USC, it was a different era because there wasn’t the social media aspect and branding and all of that,” Leinart says. “But Hollywood, the celebrities — we were the main attraction in L.A. at that time and everybody wanted to come see what it was about.”

Leinart sees some similarities between Carroll’s star-studded USC tenure and what Deion Sanders is building at Colorado. Leinart, a Fox Sports college football analyst, was present for three of the Buffaloes’ first four games and witnessed the “rise of the hoopla.”

“You have people that really want to see what it’s all about,” Leinart says. “And that’s a credit to Coach Prime and what he’s building. He’s put Colorado on the map. He’s a heck of a guy, heck of a coach. Listen, I don’t know how long he’s gonna be there or if he’s ever gonna leave or whatever. But he can build something really special there because he is as unique as they come.”

Experiencing the Colorado hype in person has reminded Leinart just how much college football means to people. Sanders’ celebrity might be a rarity to college football, but the fervor of the sport is what makes it stand out against other American leagues. “What I think makes college football super unique is it is always about the fan,” says Leinart, who’s a part of Coke Zero Sugar’s “Best Fan Ever” campaign. The initiative will award a “fan-image and likeness deal,” including a $20,000 stipend to attend games next season, to the winner of a bracket-style poll. As a result, Leinart is meeting some of the nation’s most intense fanatics who are fired up for what the future of sport holds.

“Whether fans are tailgating, screaming or are literally born into a certain school because that’s all their family talks about,” Leinart says, “fans are what makes this sport the best.”