SOUTH BEND, IND. ? Matt Leinart launched toward the end zone with Southern Cal’s winning streak and hopes for a three-peat in the balance.

The Heisman Trophy winner was swarmed by Notre Dame just short, the ball went shooting out of bounds, and the clock ticked down to 0:00.

Charlie Weis raised his arms in what he thought was victory, and the Fighting Irish and their fans poured onto the field, believing Notre Dame had added another streak-stopping upset to its storied history.

Not so fast. The top-ranked Trojans weren’t done yet.

After USC coach Pete Carroll sprinted down the field to plead his case, the officials put seven seconds back on the clock and the ball inside the one-yard line.

With another chance, Leinart pushed and spun his way into the end zone with three seconds left to cap a chaotic finish, and USC escaped with its 28th straight victory, a back-and-forth 34-31 win Saturday over No. 9 Notre Dame.

“You gotta believe you’re going to win the way that happened,” Carroll said.

The Irish (4-2), dressed for success in kelly green jerseys, tested the two-time defending champs as the Trojans never had been during their 21â2-season run of excellence. But Notre Dame couldn’t come up with one last stop.

“People were pretty shocked and devastated,” Irish quarterback Brady Quinn said.

USC assistant coach Pat Ruel, right, hugs quarterback Matt Leinart after the Trojans' last-second comeback victory over Notre Dame. Leinart's touchdown plunge with no time remaining lifted the Trojans past the Irish, 34-31, Saturday in South Bend, Ind. Ruel is a former Kansas University assistant.

Leinart had the option to spike the ball on the goal-line play to regroup his team or go with what he had. He chose the latter, took it in himself over the left side and got a little help moving the pile from star tailback Reggie Bush.

“I used all 200 pounds of my body to push Matt in,” said Bush, who ran for 160 yards on 15 carries with three touchdowns.

Carroll said USC (6-0) never even considered settling for a field-goal attempt to send it to overtime.

UVA 26, No. 4 Florida St. 21

Charlottesville, Va. – Marques Hagans threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns, and Connor Hughes kicked four field goals to help Virginia (4-2, 2-2 ACC) beat Florida State (5-1, 3-1). The only bigger win in program history came 10 years ago, also against Florida State, when the Cavaliers won, 33-28.

No. 5 UGA 34, Vanderbilt 17

Nashville, Tenn. – D.J. Shockley threw three touchdown passes, and Thomas Brown rushed for 91 yards as Georgia (6-0, 4-0 SEC) beat Vanderbilt (4-3, 2-2).

No. 6 Alabama 13, Mississippi 10

Oxford, Miss. – Jamie Christensen’s 31-yard field goal as time expired lifted Alabama (6-0, 4-0 SEC) past Ole Miss (2-4, 0-3).

No. 7 Miami 34, Temple 3

Philadelphia – Kyle Wright threw four touchdown passes in the first 19 minutes, leading Miami (5-1) past Temple (0-7).

Michigan 27, No. 8 PSU 25

Ann Arbor, Mich. – Chad Henne threw his second touchdown pass to Mario Manningham with no time left, lifting the Wolverines (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) and knocking Penn State (6-1, 3-1) out of sole possession of first place in the conference.

No. 10 LSU 21, No. 11 Florida 17

Baton Rouge, La. – Joseph Addai ran for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown, JaMarcus Russell had two TD passes, and LSU (4-1, 3-1 SEC) ended a three-game home losing streak to Florida (5-2, 3-2).

No. 12 UCLA 44, Washington State 41, OT

Pullman, Wash. – Maurice Drew had a one-yard touchdown run in overtime, and Drew Olson threw for five scores as UCLA (6-0, 3-0 Pac-10) came from 21 points down to beat Washington State (3-3, 0-3).

No. 14 B.C. 35, Wake Forest 30

Boston – Kevin Challenger made a foot-dragging catch for a 26-yard touchdown at the end-zone sideline with 1:18 left as Boston College (6-1, 3-1 ACC) rallied past Wake (2-5, 1-3).

No. 15 Ohio State 35, No. 16 Michigan State 24

Columbus, Ohio – Troy Smith threw three long touchdown passes, and Ashton Youboty returned a blocked field-goal attempt 72 yards for a score on the final play of the first half to lead Ohio State (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) in a game in which the Buckeyes didn’t run a play in Spartans (4-2, 1-2) territory until just over five minutes remained.

Oregon St. 23, No. 18 Cal 20

Berkeley, Calif. – Yvenson Bernard rushed for a career-high 185 yards for Oregon State (4-2, 2-1 Pac-10). The Golden Bears (5-2, 2-2) lost their second straight.

West Virginia 46, No. 19 Louisville 44, 3OT

Morgantown, W.Va. – Freshman Steve Slaton scored six touchdowns after halftime, and the Mountaineers (6-1, 3-0 Big East) came from 17 points down to beat Louisville (4-2, 0-2) in triple overtime.

No. 20 Oregon 45, Wash. 21

Eugene, Ore. – Kellen Clemens threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, and Oregon (6-1, 1-1 Pac-10) beat Washington (1-5, 0-3).

No. 21 Auburn 34, Ark. 17

Fayetteville, Ark. – Kenny Irons rushed for a career-high 182 yards to lead Auburn (5-1, 3-0 SEC) past Arkansas (2-4, 0-3).

No. 23 Wisconsin 38, No. 22 Minnesota 34

Minneapolis – Jonathan Casillas blocked a punt, and Ben Strickland recovered it in the end zone with 30 seconds left to complete a stunning rally for Wisconsin (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten). Laurence Maroney rushed for a career-high 258 yards, including a 93-yard touchdown, for the Gophers (5-2, 2-2).

No. 25 TCU 38, Army 17

Fort Worth, Texas – Jeff Ballard passed for two touchdowns for TCU (6-1).