EXCLUSIVE: USC Trojans Legend Anthony Davis Revisits Historic Comeback Over Notre Dame 50 Years Later

The USC Trojans will host the Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 30 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the 50th anniversary of the Trojans historic comeback. Running back Anthony Davis score four total touchdowns and ignited USC's 55-24 victory.

Jan 1, 1974; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans running back Anthony Davis (28) during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the 1980 Rose Bowl. USC beat OSU 42-21. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

It’s rivalry week across college football and the USC Trojans will host the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, Nov. 30 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the 50th anniversary of the Trojans historic comeback. 

The 1974 matchup between No. 6 USC and No. 5 Notre Dame was a battle between the last two national championship winners, the Trojans in 1972 and Irish in 1973. 

"We won the ‘72 year, we won the national title, the ‘73 year, they won the national title, so the third year was up for grabs,” said running back Anthony Davis. “The ‘74 game I knew was for all the marbles. It was a national TV game, all eyes were on USC-Notre Dame. Going into the game I knew it was going to be a dogfight. It was National Championship implications. I knew I had to play my best game.”

Jan 1, 1974; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans running back Anthony Davis (28) during the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the 1980 Rose Bowl. USC beat OSU 42-21. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

The Trojans fell behind 24-0 in front of a crowd of 83,552 at the Coliseum. Quarterback Pat Haden connected with Davis for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter to make it 24-6 at halftime. It was a situation USC coach John McKay had been in before against Notre Dame a decade earlier. In 1964 his squad fell behind 17-0 at the half and the Trojans mounted a second comeback to upset the No. 1 ranked team in the country 20-17, ending their national championship hopes. 

McCay believed his team in ‘74 could do the same but they were going to need their star running back for the second half. 

“I was beat up because I cut my palm and they couldn’t get the bleeding to stop,” Davis said. “The trainers were concerned, they were like if we can’t stop the bleeding, AD probably can’t play in the second half.”

The trainers got Davis ready to go in the second half, but the Trojans still needed a spark and McKay looked to Davis to provide it on the opening kickoff of the second half. 

“He (McKay) said they’re going to kick the ball and AD is going to bring it all the way back,” Davis said 

Davis brought the kickoff out of the end zone and behind an impressive set of blocks, went virtually untouched as he raced down the sideline, leaving the Irish in the dust for a 102-yard kickoff return to make it 24-12. The crowd at the Coliseum erupted and all of a sudden, the momentum began to shift towards USC. 

“It changed everything of the game, turned it around," Davis said. "Psychologically it changed it, emotionally it changed everything. The fans changed everything, and you saw the difference between Notre Dame and SC, emotionally and how we performed on that field. And after we scored, we came back to kickoff and David Lewis on the kickoff team dissembled that player that we hit and that made the crowd go.”

A quick three-and-out gave USC the football back and Haden hit receiver John McKay for a 31-yard gain set the Trojans up in the red zone. Davis capped off the drive with a rushing touchdown that made it 24-19. The pressure was on the Irish to stop the bleeding but a big hit from cornerback Danny Reece on tight end Pete Demmerle forced a fumble and gave USC the ball back. 

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman watches from the sideline during the second half against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Haden, drifting towards the sideline hit McKay to set the Trojans up on the four-yard line and once again it was Davis capping off the drive with a rushing touchdown to give USC their first lead of the game, 27-24. It was Davis' fourth touchdown of the game. The Trojans erased a three-touchdown deficit in the matter of minutes and from there the rout was on.

USC had scored 55 points in just under 17 minutes on the game clock against the No. 1 defense in the country. Two touchdown passes from Haden to McKay, one to Shelton Diggs and a pick-six from safety Charles Phillips gave USC the 55-24 victory. 

“For the last 50 years I’ve heard it all, I’ve heard people walking out trying to get back into the stadium because of the roar and I’ve heard people standing on their feet those two quarters. I’ve heard it all and to comeback like that it was amazing,” Davis said.

It was performance that USC fans have remembered vividly for the last 50 years and for Davis it solidified his legacy among the Trojan greats. In total, Davis scored 11 touchdowns in three games against Notre Dame,

“People see me, and they say, Notre Dame or Notre Dame killer," Davis said. "I get questions from A-Z, what kind of shoes were you wearing because I was wearing the Nike’s, I was the first athlete on the Sports Illustrated with Nike shoes. They talk about what were postgame thoughts. 

“It’s historic for me that I was able to play in this great rivalry and to be called the top player in this rivalry, that’s my Heisman trophy. To be called that with all the great players, great coaches on both players and to be called the No. 1 object in that game, that rivalry, that means a lot to me," Davis said.

USC would go on to defeat the Ohio State buckeyes in the Rose Bowl to win the 1974 National Championship, the program's second in the last three years.

Jan 1, 1974; Pasadena, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Southern California running back Anthony Davis (28) runs the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes defense during the 1974 Rose Bowl game where USC lost to OSU 21-42 at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Long Photography-Imagn Images / Long Photography-Imagn Images

Legacy of John Robinson 

Legendary USC coach John Robinson passed away on Nov. 11 of complications from pneumonia at the age of 89. Before Robinson became the head coach in 1976, he was the offensive coordinator on the Trojans two national championship teams in 1972 and 1974.

As sophomore in 1972, Robinson turned to Davis after the Trojans top two running backs went down late in the year.

"They key thing I remember about him was, it was 1972 versus Oregon, his former team, I'm sitting on the bench, Rob McNeill and Allen Carter they get hurt. I remember it's cold, its rain, he's walking down the sideline he says AD, you gotta get in the game."

Davis would run for over 200 yards and the Trojans defeated Oregon 18-0. From there, Davis excelled during his time in the Cardinal and Gold with Robinson. He was a three-time First-Team All-Pac-8 from 1972-1974, a Second-Team All-American in 1972 and a unanimous All-American in 1974.

“He inspired me to work even harder and he was always a motivator, and I think one of the key things of how he coached us I think that’s how he became the head coach at SC," Davis said. "When they were trying to choose the next coach after McKay, I endorsed him. He was one of the best coaches we ever had.”

Anthony Davis' USC Legacy

USC has a long and rich tradition in athletics, not only in football with eight Heisman trophy winners and 11 national championships but across other sports. From numerous Olympic athletes to a number of national championships on their 23 varsity teams, the Trojans have excelled in athletics across many generations.

However you want to rank them, Davis belongs in the discussion for one of the greatest ever not just because of his success on the gridiron, but on the baseball field as well. In addition to his two national championships in football, Davis also won three more on the Trojans baseball team as an outfielder.

"For me to be five national championships at a school like that says a lot," Davis said. "I'm right there with the rest of them, the one thing I can say definite is I'm the only five-time national champion in the school, that's something to be proud of, but I rank amongst all of the greats at SC. It's up to the rest of the SC fans to rank and judge me."

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