No matter what it says on paper, Reggie Bush went to USC, was a star running back for the Trojans, won a Heisman and will forever be one of the program's great players. Before, during and after USC's 30-23 victory over No. 10 Utah on Friday night, it was clear how much those things still rang true.
Bush, who played for the Trojans from 2003-05, was disassociated from the program in 2010 following the NCAA's lengthy investigation into impermissible benefits that he received. His Heisman was wiped clean from the record books and he wasn't allowed to return to the program -- unless it was in a work capacity. That just so happened to be the case with Fox Sports 1 covering the Utes-Trojans game since Bush is an analyst for the company.
Lo and behold, Bush was a storyline all evening. In his pregame analysis, Bush took a moment to criticize USC's warmup routine, taking aim at players who were getting ready without shirts.
"If you're not winning national championships or going undefeated, put your clothes back on and look like a football team." @ReggieBush had some thoughts on USC after watching their warmups. pic.twitter.com/DSe4qqnUDH
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 21, 2019
Then, Bush made another appearance on the field during the game. When the Trojans scored a 4-yard touchdown to go up 30-20, Bush joined the USC players in the end zone for a celebration. While that was a fun, memorable moment for everyone except Utah, it did cost USC a cool 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct (one of 11 penalties for USC on the night).
Reggie Bush = Good for CFB pic.twitter.com/biujYAqUwu
— Guy Haberman (@GuyHaberman) September 21, 2019
Still, despite Bush directly leading to yet another penalty for the Trojans program, no one in the Coliseum seemed to mind. Nostalgic USC fans were heard chanting his name "Reg-gie! Reg-gie! Reg-gie!" towards the end of the game.
The “Reggie! Reggie!” chants have broke out again: pic.twitter.com/hbfUbtiqAm
— Keely Eure (@keelyismyname) September 21, 2019
Yeah, it seems Bush still means something to the fans of the team, even if the relationship between him and the school infamously soured.