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Big Ten players fail to identify Reggie Bush with Heisman Trophy

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•07/26/25•

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Big Ten players can't identify Reggie Bush
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A large portion of college football fans felt age catch up to them this week. At the Big Ten Media Days, CBS Sports asked players from across the conference to identify a picture of Reggie Bush holding up his 2005 Heisman Trophy.

With players from Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oregon, Maryland and Rutgers included in the test, none of them could identify Bush. While many college football fans might feel like it was only yesterday that Bush dominated opponents at USC, it’s been over two decades.

For better or worse, college football is in a new era. With that said, it wouldn’t hurt for the Big Ten to require its players to watch some Reggie Bush highlights.

Bush was electric at USC, playing for the Trojans from 2003-05. In his three seasons at USC, Bush amassed 3,169 rushing yards, 1,301 receiving yards and 38 total touchdowns.

He was a two-time consensus All-American (2004, 2005) and two-time Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. He also won the Doak Walker Award, Jim Brown Trophy and AP College Football Player of the Year Award in 2005.

Bush’s individual accolades translated to the win column for USC. The Trojans won back-to-back national titles under head coach Pete Carroll in 2003 and ’04.

Additionally, USC reached the national championship in 2005, but ultimately 41-38 to Texas in what many consider one of the greatest college football games of all time. Bush is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

In June, CBS Sports released its Top 25 most dynamic college football players of the past 25 years. Bush topped the list.

“As much of a winner as he was an unstoppable threat, Bush was a two-time national champion, an All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year as Pete Carroll and Matt Leinart’s ultimate go-to weapon,” CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford wrote. “Bush scored four times on special teams with the Trojans and nearly all of his career trips to the end zone were showstoppers. His stop-and-go play against Fresno State became an eventual video game move.”

With stars like Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs and Drew Allar headlining the Big Ten this year, the storied conference could produce another Heisman Trophy winner in 2025. If any of them take home the coveted award, it’ll be interesting to see if they’re remembered by the next generation of football talent 20 years from now.