Sports
The legacy and legality of the Bush Push 20 years later
ON THE SIDELINE at Notre Dame Stadium, USC coach Pete Carroll frantically waved for quarterback Matt Leinart to spike the ball. The Trojans trailed 31-28, inches from the goal line with seven seconds left.
“[Leinart] was to look back at [offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian] on the sidelines, and if we wanted to sneak it, we could sneak it,” Carroll said this week. “And he had to point at him. So, we tell him to sneak it. So, he points at the line, and he looks at the line of scrimmage, and he goes, ‘There’s no way, they’re all jammed up.’ And he looks back at us, and Reggie [Bush] yelled something at him, ‘Go for it. Go for it.'”
Moments earlier, Leinart had fumbled out of bounds inside the 1. The clock mistakenly ran out, and NBC’s Tom Hammond declared, “Notre Dame has won,” as Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis raised his arms and fans stormed the field.
When play resumed, the Trojans would have one last chance to extend their winning streak to 28 games.
Leinart sneaked left from under center, but he was bounced backward into a half spin and into the path of Bush, who famously shoved him across for the winning score.
“It was about as sweet a finish as you could have in a great situation to keep the streak alive and all that, too,” Carroll said.
Twenty years ago, the “Bush Push” would become one of the most unforgettable moments in college football history — and one of its most controversial. In the box score, it was the touchdown that preserved USC’s dynasty and allowed for the Rose Bowl matchup with Texas that became an all-time classic. In the rulebook, though, it was illegal.
Except, it was almost never called. In fact, the rule had become a running joke among officials.
“You were teased if you made the call,” said former NCAA official and current ESPN analyst Matt Austin. “It was such a rare occurrence.”
In the years that followed, an obscure rule became a flashpoint. It was debated, tweaked and, eventually, led to strategic evolution.
THE “HELPING THE Ball Carrier” rule had been part of the NCAA rulebook for decades. Its language was virtually identical in every edition dating back to at least 1950.
“No [teammate] shall grasp, pull, push, lift or charge into him to assist him in forward progress.”
The idea is believed to have originated as a way to differentiate football from rugby. Teammates could block defenders, but once the ball carrier was engaged, the play was meant to be his alone. Anything more — a shove, a tug, a lift — was considered an unfair advantage.
It was almost impossible to enforce in short-yardage piles, where pushes and blocks blur together, especially near the goal line.
Steve Shaw remembers that problem well. Now the NCAA’s national coordinator of officials, Shaw spent more than two decades on the field, and he has seen just about everything. But in the 2000 season, his crew made a rare, yet memorable call.
It happened during a Middle Tennessee–UConn game. Late in the contest, a Middle Tennessee lineman reached out and grabbed his running back, helping drag him toward the end zone. Shaw’s line judge, Mike Taylor, threw the flag.
“At the end of the year, there’s a report listing every penalty called nationally,” Shaw said. “Under aiding the runner, there was one — and it was ours. We gave him a hard time for calling it, but it was the right call.”
The rule technically existed, but almost nobody enforced it. And when it was flagged, it was usually because a player was being pulled, not pushed.
So when Bush shoved Leinart across the goal line in 2005, the officials did what most would have done: They kept the flag in their pockets. In fact, after Leinart’s touchdown, the Pac-10 officiating crew huddled up to discuss the play only to emerge with an unsportsmanlike contact penalty against the Trojans for their celebration after. There was no mention of the legality of the push on the broadcast, either.
It wasn’t until the next day when the conversation shifted from the game’s remarkable ending into a nationwide rules debate that is still built into the game’s lore.
Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen admitted to the Los Angeles Times that his conference’s officiating crew could have called a penalty, but made essentially the same point Shaw did two decades later.
“I just don’t think they ever call it,” Hansen said, adding it would have been different if it was a pull, not a push.
This is where the consensus seemed to land. The play looked like part of the normal chaos that happens at the goal line. By the letter of the law, Bush committed a foul. But by the spirit of the game, he just did what any teammate would do.
RULE CHANGES IN college football often move slowly. Proposals wind through the NCAA Rules Committee, a rotating group of coaches, officials and administrators who meet each offseason.
Most suggestions come after issues are identified over the course of a season. If the committee deems something urgent, it can move quickly. If not, it can linger in discussion until a consensus forms.
Sometimes, a single play can trigger an immediate rewrite. When Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett faked a slide in the 2021 ACC championship game — beginning to give himself up before resuming his run for a long touchdown — the reaction was instant. Within days, the NCAA issued a memo closing the loophole. The same thing happened last year when Oregon‘s Dan Lanning found a way to shave off game time by using a 12th man on defense.
The Bush Push didn’t work that way.
Despite the fierce public debate — and the way it was officiated — the rule remained unchanged in the years that followed.
It wasn’t until 2013, when the rules committee formally decided to adjust the official wording.
“The rules committee had a good debate about this and they watched much video, including the Bush Push play,” Shaw said. “Overall, they came to the conclusion that it was very difficult to determine when a push was truly a foul.
“There were few guidelines that could be given to make this a consistent call. Examples were pushing a rugby scrum pile vs. pushing the runner specifically, and they felt it was nearly impossible to distinguish between pushing a runner, leaning on a runner, pushing the pile or leaning on the pile. They felt removing the ‘push’ component would be the best course of action.”
When the NCAA released its updated rulebook for the 2013 season, the word “push” was simply deleted, bringing it in line with a similar rule change the NFL made in 2005.
Without realizing it, the committee paved the way for innovation in the sport.
Right away, coaches tried to use the subtle change to their advantage, including former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, whose Wildcats started running what is now commonly referred to as the tush push later that year.
“It was just a natural thing to do,” Snyder told ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler earlier this year. “We needed to create a way in which we could take the shortest distance to get the short distance we needed to go and not get held up, because everybody put all the people over there, so we wanted to compete against no matter how many people you put there.
“We wanted to be strong enough not to get held up at the line of scrimmage. And we would bring one or two, or on occasion, three backs up right off of the hip of the center, and on the snap of the ball, we would push the center or push the back of the quarterback.”
That small tactical adjustment eventually made its way to the pros. Nearly a decade later, the Philadelphia Eagles adopted a version of the play built around quarterback Jalen Hurts, perfecting it into an almost unstoppable short-yardage weapon. Which, once again, led to a nationwide debate about whether pushing — once outlawed, then ignored and finally embraced — belonged in football at all.
In May, a proposal from the Green Bay Packers to ban the tush push came up two votes shy of the 24 it needed to pass.
At the NCAA level, the play drew some discussion over the offseason, too, but those conversations were more centered on potential injury concerns.
“The NCAA rules committee has looked at it and really up to now have not seen it become an injury, a player safety issue,” Shaw said. “So it really becomes a strategic part. Is that something strategically we want in the game? And so far there’s not been a big driver to try to put together a reason to eliminate it from our game.”
Over the past four seasons, the current rule has been enforced only six times, according to Shaw. Three times in 2022, and just once in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
AS USC RETURNS to Notre Dame this weekend for a top-20 matchup, the Bush Push helps define one of the sport’s most storied rivalries.
Carroll, now the Las Vegas Raiders coach, has very specific memories of that game in South Bend: the high grass, the green Notre Dame jerseys, the legends in the crowd.
“The stories I heard are that they sold out the night before the game at their rally that they had,” Carroll said. “And they brought Joe Montana back, and Rudy [Ruettiger] came back to speak to the crowd and a guy dressed up as Jesus showed up trying to bring home the power. … It was just an incredible setting for college football.”
The push that once went uncalled now defines the rule. Twenty years later, it’s still moving the game forward.
ESPN NFL reporter Ryan McFadden contributed to this story.
Clubs around Europe have been busy planning their transfer business during the winter window, and a few have already signed players. But there is more work to be done.
January is traditionally not a month when clubs push the boat out to spend lots of money on new additions, but times are changing and pressure is ramping up.
So, here we assess a few players who could be worth taking a gamble on if the conditions are right.
*Market value and contract data taken from Transfermarkt.
Yan Diomande, FW, 19, RB Leipzig
Market value: €45 million
Contract expiry: 2030
Diomande’s first season at RB Leipzig has marked him out as one of the most eye-catching young attackers in Europe, and he is a natural target for the big spending teams. Signed from Spanish side Leganes last summer for a fee of €20 million, the 19-year-old has developed at a remarkable speed, especially when considering he only arrived in Spain from U.S. College football’s AS Frenzi in January 2025.
Deployed on both wings at Leipzig, Diomande’s impact is mainly seen from his ability to drive forward from wide areas. He is particularly effective when moving inside, where his quick changes of direction, excellent balance, admirable determination, lightning-quick first step and close control make him difficult for markers to get to grips with. Those traits are reflected in his 3.80 successful dribbles (per 90 minutes), with most of those actions being designed to gain meters and disrupt defensive shape rather than for show.
Furthermore, his forward momentum regularly carries Leipzig into dangerous areas. His 4.5 touches in the opposition box (per 90) highlights how often he arrives in positions to create opportunities, and he has scored seven goals himself across all competitions.
Although the defensive side of his game remains a work in progress, the scale of his breakthrough has already drawn sustained attention from some of the biggest clubs, with Bayern Munich reported to be in the running. Though his transfer fee is likely to be around €80 million.
Castello Lukeba, 23, CB, RB Leipzig
Market value: €45 million
Contract expiry: 2029
Tailor-made for RB Leipzig’s front-footed style of football, Lukeba is a mobile, proactive, left-footed center back who anticipates opposing attacks early and has the recovery speed to succeed in a high defensive line. That pace is not anecdotal as he’s been recorded at 35.1 km/h in the UEFA Champions League, and it is a crucial component in a system that regularly leaves large spaces behind the defensive line when Leipzig push their midfield and full backs high.
In possession, Lukeba is not a safety-first distributor. He leads the German Bundesliga for progressive passes with 11 (per 90), at an impressive 80% accuracy, which speaks of both his ambition to move the ball forward and his ability to play out from the back under pressure. For that reason Leipzig usually use him as a primary passer out of defense and trust him to break lines rather than simply recycle possession. He also has the ability to expedite precise switches and pick out early runs from his wide forwards.
So why has still not been picked up by a top side? One explanation might be a certain weakness in his aerial game — he has a success rate in duels of roughly 40% — which suggests he is uncertain when it comes to defending crosses and set pieces. That said, given his speed, reading of the game, comfort in possession and a proven ability to perform in a high-intensity league, he’s still a top prospect.
Ismael Saibari, 24, AM, PSV Eindhoven
Market value: €32 million
Contract expiry: 2029
The centerpiece of PSV’s attacking structure, Saibari has had an enormous impact this season and is likely to have been a talking point at many recruitment meetings leading up to the transfer window. The 24-year-old has nine goals and four assists from 16 Eredivisie starts so far, numbers that place him among the most productive attacking midfielders in the league.
Used primarily as an attacking box-to-box No. 8 (or as a No. 10 behind the striker) but with license to drift wide, the Morocco international is not only decisive in the box but also carries playmaking skills outside it. His 1.2 key passes (per 90) illustrates how well his maps the movement around him, while 0.55 xG (per 90) is impressive for an advanced midfielder even in the attack-friendly Eredivisie. His ability to move the ball is also impressive with his 4.2 progressive carries (per 90) allowing PSV to break defensive lines rather than circulating possession harmlessly.
But it’s the late runs into the box that make Saibari particularly interesting, as the timing and finishing with either foot are on another level. Being physically robust and tall, he is also difficult to knock off the ball and has clearly moved beyond being a supporting presence to becoming the primary driver of PSV’s output in the final third.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, DM, Lille
Market value: €40 million
Contract expiry: 2029
Already a first-team member for two years, Bouaddi has made 76 appearances for Lille. Mainly used as a No. 6 holding midfielder, his skillset also translates to being a box-to-box No. 8 courtesy of his superb first touch under pressure, regular scanning of the field, fine dribbling, and a passing range that can switch play or thread into runs between the lines. In either role, the teenager’s ability to keep possession under pressure and link play suggest he will be a top midfielder for years to come.
Bouaddi also covers ground quickly and efficiently, blending fine agility in tight spaces with the engine to shuttle across the pitch to close passing lanes. Physically, he is well equipped and more than keen to enter duels, often stepping out to win a second ball and stave off transitions early. The downside, however, is that his aggression can tip over the limit: he was sent off in successive matches against Le Havre (Ligue 1) and Young Boys (Europe) before Christmas, with both incidents coming from an over-eagerness to stop danger early.
While his profile and age may point towards a stepping-stone move to a team like Brighton, sources have told ESPN that Paris Saint-Germain are leading the race to land him in the summer, so other major teams should act quickly if they want to land him.
Santiago Castro, 21, ST, Bologna
Market value: €35 million
Contract expiry: 2028
Castro has become one of Bologna’s most important attacking outlets after his breakthrough season. The Argentina U20 international finished last year with seven goals in Serie A and has followed up this season with five from 17 games, often delivering in some high pressure and decisive moments.
Interestingly, Castro is different from the technique-based players who get the most attention from modern scouts, as he is more like a classic South American No. 9. Instead of breathtaking finesse, his game is driven by directness, intensity and a constant willingness to compete and hassle center backs. He plays on the edge, presses aggressively from the front, and consistently looks to unsettle defenders through his movement and strength.
In possession, Castro offers a practical, efficient skillset that needs some work. But he strikes the ball cleanly with his right foot and links play well on limited touches, particularly when dropping deep. Even when he is not scoring, his industry, pressing, off-ball movement and ability to open up space for his teammates give Bologna a player whose value goes beyond goals and assists.
Samu Aghehowa, 21, ST, FC Porto
Market value: €50 million
Contract expiry: 2029
Arguably one of the most exciting center forwards in the European game, Samu is a modern No. 9 striker whose game is as much about imposing himself on center backs as it is about finishing moves. While his 6-foot-4 frame suggests he is an obvious target man, it’s equally interesting how often he turns those physical attributes into repeatable shot volume (3.13 per 90, at an impressive 60% accuracy). Indeed, data models consistently place him among the most frequent and highest quality shooters — 46 goals from 70 appearances for FC Porto — in Europe’s top leagues.
In addition to his calm finishing, the Spain international pins the defensive line back, attacks the six-yard box with conviction and always gives the team a direct route when buildup slows down. In the air he is a presence too, and he brings an edge on crosses and set pieces. His excellent mobility also sets him apart from most other classic No. 9s as he is comfortable moving into the channels, carrying the ball forward and nipping into spaces left by defenders.
While there are still elements of his game to refine — his creative output remains modest compared to his final-third presence, and he is not yet a natural operator between the lines — Porto boss Francesco Farioli mainly asks him to focus on his strengths: occupying center backs, turning possession into shots, and giving the team’s attack a natural target.
Victor Froholdt, 19, CM, FC Porto
Market value: €30 million
Contract expiry: 2030
A €20 million summer arrival from FC Copenhagen, Froholdt has wasted no time in imposing himself on a new league and environment. Just 18 months after his breakout in Denmark, the 19-year-old has stepped straight into Farioli’s demanding, high-tempo midfield and looks at home. He has now played every minute of the last eight matches, which is a clear signal of how central he has become to the team’s structure.
What stands out in the Denmark international’s game is his completeness. Froholdt can sit at the base of a double pivot and dictate the tempo, or burst forward as a No. 8, or drift higher as a roaming attacking midfielder without disrupting the balance around him. For a teenager, his blend of physicality, stamina and tactical awareness is highly impressive.
He competes in duels, reads the rhythm of games well, and adds creativity when in possession. He can find excellent passing angles, either dropping deep to start moves with vertical passes or arriving late into advanced areas, while his close control and calmness under pressure also allow him to wriggle out of crowded areas.
Perhaps his most distinctive trait, though, is how he advances play while carrying the ball. Froholdt drives through midfield with balance and directness, regularly gliding past opponents (2.3 progressive runs per 90 is chart topping for a No. 8 in the Portuguese Primeira Liga). Those progressive sprints, backed by strong dribbling numbers, explain why Manchester United, Tottenham, and other top clubs in England have been linked.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Less than a month ago, James Harden and the LA Clippers were near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with very little to feel optimistic about.
But after their fourth win in a row, 119-105 over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome, and their 11th win in their past 13 games — the best record in the NBA during that span — Harden told ESPN he thinks the Clippers could “come all the way back.”
Back into playoff contention would be quite a feat considering how poorly the Clippers started the season. At one point, they were 6-21 with nothing but a series of controversies to show for a season that began with great expectations.
“Some teams, when it gets that bad, they just let the wheels fall off,” Harden said. “I had interviews where people were asking me, ‘How do you find confidence?’ and I’m like, ‘The confidence is there. The losses are frustrating, but the confidence is still there.’
“I think finding little tweaks and being a lot better defensively is what really helped us out. … Now we got to take one game at a time, just like when we were in the hole. We can come all the way back, but we have to chip away, chip away and really build some momentum going into the All-Star break.”
The Clippers are currently a half-game behind the Memphis Grizzlies for 10th place and the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Harden and Kawhi Leonard are hoping to be a part of All-Star Weekend on Feb. 13-15 at the Intuit Dome. Both are strong candidates after this recent surge. Leonard is averaging 32.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 steals during this 11-2 run. Harden is averaging 24.8 points and 7.8 assists.
“We talk probably more than anybody,” Harden said of Leonard. “Once I see him flip the switch, it was like, ‘OK, yeah, it’s time to go.’ That’s the Kawhi we need. My job is just facilitate, get him going, get us going. So it’s just been a complete 180.”
Harden also recently passed Shaquille O’Neal for ninth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, a special accomplishment for a player who grew up in Los Angeles watching O’Neal win championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“That was a surreal moment just because as a kid growing up watching Kobe [Bryant] and Shaq, the Lake Show, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, all those guys. To pass somebody who I really grew up watching, it’s unreal for real,” Harden said.
As for his own time in Los Angeles, Harden seemed to dispel any notion that he’d want to leave his hometown amid the Clippers’ early-season struggles.
“It’s hard to explain,” Harden said. “Being at home, that’s like the opportunity of a lifetime for me. Just be able to hoop in front of my family, friends, people I grew up with, people that raised me. It’s a different feeling. So as much as people talk all the time. That’s social media, that’s what people’s jobs are to talk. For me, it’s just like I’m actually living in it so I can’t get caught up in what people talk about, how people feel, whatever the case.
“I’m from L.A. and I’m blessed to be here.”
Football’s global governing body FIFA said Wednesday it had received more than 500 million requests for tickets to this year’s World Cup despite rumbling controversy over sky-high prices to attend the event.
FIFA said in a statement it had received applications from fans in all of its 211 member nations and territories for the tournament staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The window for submitting requests to be entered in a lottery which will allocate tickets closed on Tuesday. FIFA said fans would be notified of whether their requests had been successful “no earlier than 5 February.”
Outside of the tournament’s host nations, FIFA said the heaviest demand came from fans in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.
The most requested ticket was Colombia’s clash with Portugal in Miami on June 27, followed by Mexico’s game against South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, and the World Cup final in New Jersey on July 19.
“Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand – it’s a global statement,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.”
“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums.”
FIFA has faced sharp criticism over its ticket pricing strategy for the 48-team tournament, with fan groups branding the cost as “extortionate” and “astronomical.”
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said ticket prices were almost five times higher than at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Those criticisms prompted FIFA to introduce a new category of cut-price tickets in December set at 60 US dollars (51 euros) each.
Germany’s Puma appoints Nadia Kokni as senior global marketing leader
Asian stocks today: Markets remain mixed after Trump’s Iran remarks; HSI down over 76 points, Kospi gains 1.5% – The Times of India
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