20 years later, epic 2005 showdown with USC impacts Fresno State football legacy

The greatest game arguably in Fresno State football history was a loss.

But what a loss, and what a game, and what a showdown.

That moment unfolded a little more than 20 years ago when “little ol’” Fresno State nearly knocked down what many considered “maybe the best team ever in college football,” as the FOX announcer stated during the game’s television broadcast.

USC (10-0) was the two-time reigning national champ and No. 1 in all the rankings.

And Fresno State (8-1) — a tough, hard-nose, aggressive program ranked No. 16 in the nation — was on the verge of toppling the Trojans Dynasty.

Playing each other for the first time during the regular season, Fresno State and USC would combine for nearly 100 points, as well as countless memories in a long-anticipated game remembered much for its excitement and the emotional toll.

The Trojans were a team of stars with coach Pete Carroll, and Heisman Trophy candidates Matt Leinart at quarterback and Reggie Bush at running back.

But what the Bulldogs lacked in star power or Hollywood glamour, they made up for with a massive chip on their shoulder.

This was a Fresno State team determined to show it wasn’t just a mid-major team having a good season — but a program that could compete and beat, and belonged among the best in college football.

That was the dream.

And Fresno State seemed so close to seizing it.

“We know that we’re going to play the best team in the nation,” Fresno State coach Pat Hill said then. “That’s what we want to be some day.”

Selling the dream

If longtime Bulldogs coach Jim Sweeney was the man who built Fresno State football, Hill was the coach who branded it.

What other Bulldogs coach has been more visible and vocal, and marketed the program more passionately than the man who once sported the iconic Fu Manchu beard?

Perhaps just as memorable was Hill’s aggressive mantra of playing “Anybody, Anywhere, Anytime,” which helped the Bulldogs form an identity as a program that backed down to no challenge.

Hill was unapologetic in his approach of loudly and proudly representing Fresno State.

“Why not Fresno State?” Hill often asked aloud then. “Why not here?”

Hill also was direct about sharing his vision and what it would take to get the program to another level — whether it was candidly talking about the need of stadium upgrades and expansion, drumming up support and donations from local and area businesses, or simply encouraging Bulldogs fans to come out to the games and be in their seats before opening kickoff.

“There’s a lot of strength here if we unite,” Hill said then. “And that’s what I think Fresno State football can do for this community.

“Everyone has got to push together to go to the next level.”

Because long before college football morphed into its present-day form of mega conferences, Hill predicted the changing landscape: tiers of haves and have not’s — big-name programs and big budgets and big conferences separating from the rest.

Hill did not want Fresno State to be left behind.

This game on Nov. 19, 2005, against USC was the moment the Bulldogs were hoping would catapult the program to a new level of support and popularity.

Maybe even ride a monumental upset into a BCS bowl, and perhaps impress others so much that an invitation to a powerhouse conference would become inevitable.

All confidence, no fear

Going into the game played before a rambunctious crowd of 90,007 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC hadn’t lost in nearly three years — a streak of 31 games.

Still, Fresno State was not intimidated. (Though players admitted years later that they were a little star-struck seeing celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Spike Lee at the game.)

Nonetheless, the Bulldogs came focused and believed they had the talent to match up against any team in the country.

In its previous game, Fresno State defeated rival Boise State 27-7 to extend its winning streak to seven games.

Fresno State’s ability back then to bring in a handful of “Prop. 48” players — high school recruits who did not meet NCAA minimum academic requirements to be eligible for scholarship but used their first year in college to reach the academic standards and gain eligibility — positioned the Bulldogs to play a few talented athletes who had been disregarded by other programs.

The university ended that practice of recruiting academic nonqualifiers in 2003, with the use of prop players viewed as controversial.

But back then and in this matchup, it all just fueled players like Fresno State cornerback Richard Marshall.

Confident in his abilities, Marshall played with a bravado that he would not tolerate being looked down upon because he was a prop player and for suiting up at Fresno State.

He also viewed the game as a chance to increase his NFL draft stock, and showcase both his skills and Fresno State’s talents on a larger platform.

“This was my opportunity to give it back to SC,” said Marshall, a Southern California-area native who was recruited by the Trojans but not offered a scholarship. “Plus, when you play for Coach Hill, you knew you were going to play all the big-name schools, and we would get that opportunity to shine.”

Marshall, who would go on to enjoy a nine-year career in the NFL, talked trash to USC receivers throughout the night.

Paired with another future NFL cornerback in the Bulldogs’ Marcus McCauley, the backfield duo would help limit the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Leinart and the USC aerial attack to 200 passing yards.

Trojans receivers never caught a pass longer than 11 yards.

“In my view, we felt our DBs were better,” Marshall said. “We knew we were capable of doing big things.”

At one point late in the first half while Fresno State led 21-10, Marshall brought down the elusive Bush with a stifling open-field tackle. Then, he tossed the running back’s shoe high in the air.

“That’s disrespectful,” FOX color commentator Petros Papadakis said jokingly on the TV broadcast while also admiring the height of the shoe toss. “That thing went 20 yards up. ...

“Right now, Fresno State (is) playing USC tough. Is this the Bulldogs’ day?”

Key injury, Bush explosion

In the heat of the game along the Bulldogs sideline, Fresno State linebackers Marcus Riley and Ahijah Lane started to argue.

“Why aren’t you in the game?” Lane asked Riley during the first half.

“Something’s wrong with my knee,” Riley replied.

Lane, the passionate local product from Hoover High, lashed back to try to motivate his friend to return to the field.

“He’s calling me soft, telling me I need to tough it out,” Riley recalled. “I’m yelling back at him.

“I just knew this: At that moment, it wasn’t too painful. But I just knew my knee was off. Something was missing.”

What happened was at some point during USC’s opening drive while covering Trojans receiver Steve Smith, Riley said he injured his knee.

There was no game stoppage or injury timeout. So for many observers, the injury went unnoticed.

Riley continued to play while subbing in and out before seriously aggravating the injury later in the first half. After falling to the ground, Riley tried crawling to get off the field, then tight end Devyn McDonald rushed to help escort his teammate.

Riley was done from there, in street clothes and hobbling on the sideline by the start of the second half. He suffered a torn ACL.

“Noncontact injury” Riley said. “Tried to stop on two feet. My foot got caught on the grass. Tore up my knee.”

The ACL injury would essentially sideline Riley the remainder of the 2005 season, as well as make him ineffective during the 2006 campaign. He would eventually make a full recovery and become the 2007 Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

But on this night, without Riley for the second half, Fresno State would struggle to recover.

“I felt like everything was going to plan while I was in there,” Riley said. “Reggie got the ball one time in the first few plays and I stopped for him like 2 yards.

“The way our defense was set up, the action was funneled to the will (weakside) linebacker. That was me. I didn’t get overeager with the matchup with Reggie Bush. My mindset was just if we each do our job collectively, we should have a chance. I just didn’t want to give him much space.”

But with Riley on the sideline, Bush erupted.

The eventual Heisman Trophy winner from that season showcased a mix of acceleration, speed and juking ability en route to amassing a Pac-10 record 513 all-purpose yards — 294 rushing yards and two touchdowns, 68 receiving yards and 161 return yards.

“Best college running back I’ve ever seen,” said Fresno State receiver Paul Williams, who spent a little time trying to tackle Bush while on special teams coverage units.

By contrast, though, Bush was held to nine carries for 118 yards in the first half. And 65 of those yards occurred on a run when Riley was briefly subbed out.

“That was the turning point,” Marshall said of Riley’s injury. “He was playing and guarding Reggie Bush. He was an athletic linebacker who could run and hit, fill that weakside.

“We tried to switch things up and move people around. But the things Riley could do set up our defense better. After that, we had to play more of a zone. And when we did go man, some of our other linebackers weren’t as athletic. And it showed.”

Tale of two halves

From heroic to horrifying.

That’s how Fresno State quarterback Paul Pinegar’s night went.

The senior entered the game being celebrated for having a 32-9 record at that point and with an NCAA record-tying three bowl victories.

In the first half, he looked more in control of the game than Bush or Leinart.

Pinegar distributed the ball around and completed 17 of 22 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the first half — and Fresno State led 21-13 at the break.

“Pinegar playing like a star,” Papadakis said. “If Fresno State can pull this off, they’ll turn the college football world upside down.”

But then came USC’s second-half adjustments as the Trojans outscored the Bulldogs 28-7 in the third quarter alone. Fresno State’s lead that had grown as large as 11 points turned into a 13-point deficit going into the fourth.

“They came out with a new sense of urgency; started to attack and exploit our weaknesses,” Fresno State receiver Joe Fernandez said.

Fresno State did reclaim the lead after scoring on back-to-back drives.

Fernandez caught a 6-yard touchdown — his second of the night — and got to celebrate briefly on the same field where his dad, former Los Angeles Raiders receiver Mervyn Fernandez, used to play on.

“On a personal level,” Joe Fernandez said, “that was special for my family.”

Then 12 seconds later and following a Bush fumble on the ensuing kick return, Bulldogs running back Wendell Mathis ran in an 18-yard touchdown. Mathis, who two seasons prior had transferred to Fresno State from UCLA, never was a big fan of USC.

“You respect everyone and fear no one,” Mathis said before the game. “They breathe the same air we do.”

The approximately 20,000 Fresno State fans in The Coliseum roared.

If time could freeze and the game ended at that moment, this might’ve been the height of Bulldog football with Fresno State ahead 42-41 with 9:47 remaining.

“USC fans, I think, are sitting in stunned silence,” Fox play-by-play announcer Barry Tompkins said.

The seesaw matchup, however, was just beginning.

The Trojans answered with back-to-back scoring drives on their own and built an eight-point lead with 3:06 remaining, including a field goal that was a byproduct of a Pinegar fumble.

Pinegar finished the night with five turnovers — all in the second half.

For Bulldogs fans, Pinegar’s final turnover might’ve been the most agonizing.

‘Going for it all’

Fresno State started its final drive needing a touchdown plus a two-point conversion to force overtime.

Pinegar twice threw to the smallest target on the field to get the Bulldogs out of trouble.

Matt Rivera, the 5-foot-8, 195-pound running back and former walk-on from Clovis High, converted a first down on a 4th-and-7 play, then gained 30 yards on a screen pass to reach the Trojans 25.

USC called timeout.

Drums pounded during the break, signifying the start of another round of USC’s fight song played by the Trojans marching band.

FOX television cameras zoomed in on Hill as the Bulldogs coach glanced at the scoreboard.

Out of the timeout, Fresno State lined up in 11 personnel — one running back, a wide receiver to the left of the offensive line, a tight end on the right, and two other receivers to the right.

Pinegar fired a pass near the end zone, intended for his tallest and strongest receiver in Williams, who was lined up to the right as an inside receiver.

“Pinegar going for it all!” the Fox announcer said.

Was this the right play to call? And was this the best time to try for the end zone?

A local product from the rural Fresno County city of Avenal, Williams was the type of recruit Hill loved to recruit: tough, fast and physical.

Pinegar, too, loved throwing to Williams.

In Fresno State’s previous game against Boise State, Pinegar connected with the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Williams for two touchdowns, including a 98-yard score that established a school record for longest reception ever.

Teammates described Williams as “a freak” because of his multi-talents.

But on this pass against USC, Pinegar appeared set on looking at and throwing only to Williams.

And the throw sailed into double coverage and got intercepted.

“We were on the doorstep to beat the No. 1 team in the nation,” Pinegar said then. “Too many mistakes at costly times.”

Final score: No. 1 USC 50, No. 16 Fresno State 42

Pinegar later brushed off the notion that his arm had gotten fatigued down the stretch. He finished the game having completed 27 of 45 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns to four interceptions.

Williams, who finished with four catches for 62 yards and one touchdown, admitted he could’ve and should’ve done a better job going after Pinegar’s final pass more aggressively.

“I can’t fault him for throwing me the ball,” Williams said. “It was my responsibility to fight through and get it.”

Silent aftermath

At his postgame press conference, Hill looked like he’d been crying.

His eyes appeared glazed over while addressing the media.

“It went back and forth. We had our shots,” Hill said afterward. “They played hard all night.”

Inside the Fresno State locker room, Fernandez recalled hearing nothing but silence.

There was no coach’s speech. No players chatting. And certainly no one celebrating.

“No one needed to say anything to anyone,” Fernandez said. “Yeah, we almost did it. We had a good showing.

“We didn’t feel the need to punch a hole in the wall. But we didn’t want to pat ourselves on the back. We were never playing to just keep it close.”

Then Fernandez sighed while recalling more of the aftermath.

“With everything that I know now, 20 years later and when we talk about mental health ... in hindsight we needed an intervention,” Fernandez added. “You don’t go through something that big and don’t have some type of trauma.”

Fresno State, in fact, would go on to lose its next three games, including at the Liberty Bowl to conclude the 2005 season.

“Mentally, we weren’t feeling it,” Fernandez said.

Some attribute Fresno State’s 4-8 record in 2006 — the program’s worst record at the time since 1978 — as a continued tailspin from the fall at USC.

“For me, it was like four years of hard work to play USC, and ‘Damn, it’s over!’” Williams said. “It just felt like a cumulation.

“But we still had more games that season. We still had another year after that season. Just wasn’t the same.”

In the years that followed his college career, Williams went on to play in the NFL and became teammates with USC’s other heralded running back Lendale White while with the Tennessee Titans.

The Bulldogs receiver recalled having a conversation with White, who according to Williams said that Fresno State should’ve beaten USC.

“It was ours to win,” Williams said. “It took a Reggie Bush Heisman performance for SC to pull it off.”

Marshall, too, became NFL teammates with some USC players part of the 2005 game, including Bush while they were with the Miami Dolphins.

Once other Miami teammates found out about Marshall’s and Bush’s ties to the Fresno State-USC game, which sometimes aired on TV in particular to highlight Bush’s amazing performance, they’d tease the Bulldogs lockdown corner.

“Reggie wouldn’t bring it up himself,” Marshall said. “But other teammates would. They’d ask me ‘How I let that man go off for 500 all-purpose yards.’ I shake my head.

“I think it goes to show you that even if you didn’t go to Fresno State or USC, or if you lived on the East Coast, you still knew about that game.”

What if’s and what went down

Twenty years later, there still seems to be a sting of pain, perhaps even sadness from Fresno State folks when asked to recount memories from that late night in L.A.

Maybe it’s from thinking of the what-if scenarios and how things could’ve played out if Fresno State had beaten USC and ran the table the remainder of that 2005 season.

“If I don’t get hurt, and if we win that game, I still believe we would’ve gotten into a BCS bowl,” Riley said. “We probably would’ve moved into the Top 10 rankings. Win the rest of our games and the bowl game.

“Who knows what else might’ve happened. Maybe I get drafted higher. A lot of what-ifs from that season.”

History has gone on to show it’s not clear how a win against USC could’ve impacted Fresno State’s conference affiliation.

The Bulldogs will finally join the Pac-12 starting the 2026 football season. But it’s not the same conference as once before with most of the members from 2005 having departed, including USC.

Boise State, which went on an undefeated run in 2006 and capped that season with a memorable victory against Oklahoma in the BCS Fiesta Bowl, in some ways lived out the dream Fresno State envisioned.

Yet despite their success, the Broncos have remained in the same conferences as the Bulldogs (Western Athletic Conference, then Mountain West). Like Fresno State, Boise State also is moving to a reconstructed Pac-12 next season.

Meanwhile, schools such as Utah and Texas Christian got bumped up from the Mountain West and joined Power 5 conference.

In more recent years, programs like Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida all moved up from the mid-major ranks and received an invitation to a Power Four conference after enjoying successful football runs.

Did Fresno State miss its chance that night?

Nonetheless, Bulldogs fans seem to recount the Fresno State-USC night with much more pride than pain.

A missed opportunity? Sure.

But for most of the Redwave, their memories are filled with how their beloved Bulldogs nearly shocked college football and toppled USC.

An emotional rollercoaster that still feels fun to relive.

“If you were around then, every college football fan knows where they were at when Fresno State played USC,” Riley said. “It’ll always be a classic.”