11 A.D. -- That’s History

No USC player is more closely associated with the USC-Notre Dame rivalry than Anthony Davis, who starred at tailback for the Trojans from 1972 to 1974. Davis scored six touchdowns in USC’s victory in 1972, was largely neutralized in 1973, then ignited the Trojans’ legendary 55-24 comeback victory in 1974. In three games against the Fighting Irish, Davis scored 11 touchdowns -- three on kickoff returns -- and became known as “the Notre Dame Killer.” Today, Davis, 52, lives in Irvine and owns a real estate development company specializing in industrial and affordable housing projects. USC has designated Saturday as Anthony Davis Day.

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Start by saying this: I don’t know anyone in the country who has been interviewed and bombarded every year for 30 years because of a series of three games.

The national-championship implications those three years, the legacy of both schools, the All-Americans -- all of that was part of the circumstances surrounding those games.

I feel honored for people to put me in high regard for that. It’s not like I even went into the professional ranks and had a great career. I had injuries and did not make some good decisions. But if I had played 10 years of professional ball, I’d still be labeled with what I did against Notre Dame. It wouldn’t have mattered what I would have done, I was tagged with that.

I saw [former Notre Dame quarterback] Tommy Clements years ago in Canada and all he did was just stare at me. Just looked at me like, “There’s that SOB.” When I was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and played against [former Notre Dame defensive lineman] Ross Browner, it was the same thing.

Our 1972 team was the greatest team ever assembled in college football. I was a sophomore that year and didn’t know the significance of the Notre Dame rivalry. I was clueless. Before the game, I predicted I was going to make two long runs. I told reporters, “If I get a couple blocks outside, I’m going to go all the way.” My teammates were upset. “Why did you say that?” they asked. I said, “Man, you know what I mean.” I believed we could beat them like we beat UCLA. They said, “You don’t understand. This is Notre Dame. It’s a whole different deal.”

I ran the kickoff back 97 yards. A lot of people don’t remember, but it was like 105 degrees on the field. Later in the game, they kicked off to me again and I ran it back the other way 98 yards. I put a crazy move on this guy and went in. I scored six touchdowns that day and everybody was chanting, “A.D.! A.D.!” I could have scored seven or eight touchdowns that day.

Tommy Hawkins, a broadcaster and Notre Dame alum, told me, “When you go back to South Bend next year, you’ll find out what it means to do what you did against Notre Dame.”

Fast-forward to the next fall. We came into town and the front page of the newspaper had a picture of a life-size dummy of me hanging in effigy. They had pictures of me on the sidewalks so people could walk on me. When I went into the stadium, I knew. It’s like they wanted to come tear my head off. There were signs that said, “Oh God in Heaven, Please Don’t Let Davis Score Seven.”

I felt sort of bad because of all the emphasis put on me. We lost and I found out how serious they took football back there. I saw Tommy Hawkins. He says, “A.D., do you know now?” I said, “Yeah, I do.”

The third game was back here. Like a Hollywood script.

In the first half, they stopped me every time I touched the ball. We couldn’t throw it, we couldn’t run it and they scored at will. We had gotten beat by Arkansas, 22-7 -- I’m still trying to figure that one out -- and had never been down like that and come back. How do you come back against a team of that magnitude?

We were down 24-6 at halftime. I had cut my hand at the end of the second quarter so I went to see the trainer then joined the rest of the team. John McKay was calm. He said we could come back just like they did in 1964 against Notre Dame. He said someone needed to make something happen, and then he said they were going to kick the ball to me and I was going to take it all the way back.

I caught the ball end over end, got some great blocks and went left toward the sideline. I saw Ara Parseghian standing in the same position he was in in ‘72, when I scored on that second return. Parseghian was looking at me like he wanted to come on the field and tackle me himself. That touchdown started the greatest comeback I have ever been a part of.

I went back to Notre Dame one time in the late ‘90s. I was dressed in black and walking through the end zone. People were chanting and then, all of a sudden, it stopped when they realized who I was.

I’m 52 years old and I’m still getting asked about Notre Dame every day. It’s not a burden and I don’t shy away from it. I’m honored and appreciative of it. I admire the fans and what they have shown me over the years. To be called the greatest player in the rivalry is a compliment I hold in the highest regard.

I try to put everything in perspective because this was a football game, this is not the real world. But one guy said, “You know, what you did, especially in 1974, showed determination. You had a lot of drive.”

As I’ve matured, I use that in business. I always feel you can make things happen when you’re at your worst adversity.