The BCS can wait: Let's celebrate USC-Notre Dame

	The end: The goal-line scene of USC's game-winning touchdown, which was scored by Matt Leinart on a 1-yard sneak. Bill Frakes/SI
	Closer, this time: Reggie Bush (5) pushes Matt Leinart toward the goal line. Bill Frakes/SI
	More from Stewart Mandel SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- This time, it really was over. Even before the Notre Dame Stadium clock mistakenly struck 0:00, even before the jubilant Irish students prematurely stormed the field, even before Matt Leinart's first effort to cross the goal line appeared to fall short, USC's 28-game winning streak and three-peat aspirations were as good as done. Weren't they? • FULL STORY
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Come Monday afternoon, when the first BCS standings of the season are released, the college football world will begin its now-annual, collective freak-out about computer rankings, schedule strength and everything that's screwed-up about their favorite sport. In the meantime, forgive me for spending another 24 hours cherishing an event that reminded us why we love college football in the first place.

I've covered any number of exciting finishes and been in awe of many electric atmospheres over the years, but standing on the sideline during the final drive of Saturday's USC-Notre Dame game, I found myself keenly aware of the fact I was witnessing something on another level entirely. It's as if I could feel the millions of sets of eyes tuned in around the country at that same moment -- and not just the type of diehards who typically read this column, either. You couldn't help but figure that anyone in the country even remotely interested in sports had surely found their way over to NBC. When Matt Leinart completed his 61-yard pass to Dwayne Jarrett on fourth-and-9, my colleague Austin Murphy and I looked at each other and said nearly the same thing at the same time: "Did that really just happen?" And when Leinart made his game-winning spin move into the end zone, I realized almost instantaneously that, much like Flutie-to-Phelan, Stewart-to-Westbrook or Johnny Rodgers' punt return, I'd just witnessed one of those plays that people will forever remember where they were when it happened.

Of course, USC-ND was hardly the sport's only photo finish Saturday. Just minutes before Leinart's sneak, Michigan's Chad Henne had thrown a game-winning touchdown pass to Mario Manningham with no time remaining to stun previously undefeated Penn State. Earlier in the day, Wisconsin beat Minnesota on a blocked punt and Alabama beat Ole Miss on a last-second field goal, and later West Virginia and UCLA would pull off overtime victories. The once-in-a-decade circumstances of the Trojans-Irish game, however, made it one of those events that transcend the college realm.

You'd like to think that any such finish involving the two-time defending national champion would be considered just as historic, but, like it or not, there's an added aura when Notre Dame is involved. While the type of people who normally read this column would have been watching whether the opponent was Michigan, Florida State, Arizona State or Nebraska, it's Notre Dame that causes the sport's more casual followers -- say, a Northesterner who hasn't watched a college game in five years -- to flip the channel away from the baseball playoffs. The fact is, at about 7:20 p.m. ET Saturday, the center of the sporting universe was South Bend, Ind., which is why it's always better for college football when the Irish are competitive.

I would also argue that USC's recent dominance has been a tremendous boon to the sport as well. It's been a long time since a pair of college players have attained NFL-level recognizability like Leinart and Reggie Bush, and the ever-growing curiosity surrounding the Trojans and their winning streak has turned them into one of the biggest stories in sports.

For once, the type of pro-centric fans who tend to mock the college game are talking about it because of something besides the BCS. Well, at least they will be until Monday.