I had forgotten how lucky USC was in this game. VT essentially dominated the first half, and USC benefitted from VT dropping an interception on the first possession and had a ball bounce directly into Reggie Bush's hands in stride after Leinart sailed a backward screen pass over Bush's head. Chris Clifton also dropped a pass that would have put VT near the red zone, and then Randall was intercepted on the very next play.

The ultimate stroke of luck was the infamous offensive PI call against VT at the 4:44 mark of the 3rd quarter. I still firmly believe that penalty directly affected the outcome of the game. Oh well, you win some and you lose some, and VT certainly held its own against the #1 team and eventual national champion.

It's been interesting going back and watching a lot of these older games. It's a new perspective for me, since I attended most of these games in person and have never watched the TV coverage. It sure is impressive watching the defense from those days. To quote Frank Beamer, they would really get after people. I know this isn't a news flash, but Eric Green really stands out. He was an aggressive, hard-hitting corner that was really good in single coverage.

I still scratch my head trying to figure out how things went south so quickly at the end of the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Those teams were loaded with talent.
[Post edited by MP4VT2004 at 10/25/2019 11:19PM]