2006 BCS Championship Between Texas vs USC

The BCS Championship Game for the 2005 season would appear to be a coronation for the might USC dynasty under the tutelage of Pete Carroll. The Texas Longhorns will try to put up more of a fight than Oklahoma did in the game last year, but few doubt it can hold off the mighty Trojans.

USC Trojans

The Trojans demolition of Oklahoma in the 2004 championship game would seem like a hard act to follow this year, but it hasn't been. The Trojans are simply the best team in college football and many are starting to suggest this may be the best team to ever grace a college football given its 34 game winning streak. To give you a feel for the talent on the team, consider this simple listing of Trojans on the All American Team:

First Team

Reggie Bush
Matt Leinart
Dwayne Jarrett
Taitusi Latui
Sam Baker
Ryan Kalil
Darnell Bing
Lawrence Jackson
Frostee Rucker

Second Team

LenDale White
Fred Matua
Scott Ware

Nine other Trojans are listed as honorable mentions. This means out of the 24 starters on the Trojans [including kickers], fully 19 are rated among the best three deep in the country! The team comes into the game looking more like an NFL powerhouse than a college football team.

Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns are nothing to sniff at either. They are on their own 19 game winning street. If it weren't for the Trojans, this team would be celebrated as well. Led by big, gliding quarterback Vince Young, the team comes into the game a clear number 2 in the nation and an undefeated 12-0. Of course, the same thing was said of Oklahoma last year and the Trojans put a beating on the Sooners like few have seen. This doesn't bother Texas fans who point to the fact they also wrecked the Sooners this year with a 45-12 beat down in the Red River Rivalry game.

BCS Game Preview

It is hard to see how the Texas Longhorns wins this game. Everyone is picking USC and rightly so, particularly after the demolition of Oklahoma last year. An accomplished runner, Vince Young is viewed as an average passer at best and Pete Carroll defenses eat one dimensional quarterbacks alive. The Texas defense is very good, but it faces a USC offense with a huge offensive line, two Heisman winners in the backfield [Lienart and Bush] and an epic set of wide receivers. The size, quickness and speed of USC should triumph particularly since the game is in the Rose Bowl, the traditional bowl turf of the Trojans.

Championship Game Review

The first quarter was surprisingly subdued for a game with so much hype. That being said, one of the biggest questions coming into the game was quickly answered. Could the Longhorns defense stop the Trojans offense? It could and did. The teams traded punts until Texas punt returner Aaron Ross fumbled a punt and the Trojans recovered deep in Texas territory. LenDale White would rush for a 6 yard touchdown that would produce the only points of the quarter.

The second quarter saw the game open up. The Trojans offense woke up with a pass to Reggie Bush who blew down the center of the field deep into Texas territory. In a brain freeze moment, he tried to lateral the ball when being tackled. The lateral was recovered by Texas. Vince Young then passed the team down the field before the Longhorns had to settle for a field goal that made the score 7-3. The Trojans responded by driving deep into Texas territory before turning over the ball again on a wayward Matt Leinart throw that was picked off by Michael Griffin in the end zone. Texas immediately drove down the field with Vince Young gaining much of the yardage by running including an option play that ultimately led to a touchdown that put the Longhorns in front 9-7 after missing an extra point. The Longhorns defense then forced a three and out by the Trojans. Texas took over at about midfield and two passes to tight end David Thomas produced a touchdown and a 16-7 lead. USC quickly drove down the field to the Texas 13, but two sacks forced a field goal just as time ran out for a 16-10 score at halftime.

Coming into the third quarter, the Trojans looked to be in real trouble. It had become apparent that Vince Young could not be stopped on the run and the Longhorns defense could play at just as high level as the Trojans offense. The game was on as they say and the second half would prove to be one of the best in the history of the BCS.

The third quarter started with the Longhorns being forced to quickly punt. The Trojans drove down the field behind the running of LenDale White, who scored his second touchdown to give USC a 17-16 lead. Having figured out that USC could not stop Vince Young on the ground [he would rush for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns], the Longhorns drove down the field using him on the ground. Young eventually scored on a 14 yard run and Texas had the lead again. The Trojans responded by driving down the field as well. They faced a fourth down on the Texas 12 and successfully went for it with LenDale White breaking through the line for a 12 yard touchdown run and a USC 24-23 lead at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was packed with drama as the teams combined to score a staggering 32 combined points. The quarter started with USC going on an 80 yard drive capped by a Reggie Bush 26 yard touchdown run. The Longhorns responded with two Young passes getting Texas inside the USC 20 where they ultimately settled for a field goal after a Young fumble. USC charged down the field and scored a touchdown on a Dale Jarrett reception that game the Trojans a seemingly insurmountable 38-26 lead. Unfortunately for USC, these would be their last points of the game.

The Longhorns got the ball back with 6 plus minutes left and looked to Vince Young for salvation. He passed or rushed on every play and led Texas down the field till he eventually ran the ball in on a 25 yard run to close the score to 38-33. The subsequent drive saw USC race to midfield where the drive stalled. Facing a fourth and two on the Texas 44 yard line, Pete Carroll decided to go for it with 2 minutes left instead of punting. LenDale White was stopped short and Texas took over the ball. The Longhorns then labored down the field, benefiting from a face mask penalty on the Trojans on a third and long play. The drive finally stalled out on the USC 9 yard line. With no choice but to go for it, the Longhorns called a pass. Facing pressure, Young scrambled for the end zone and made it to put the Longhorns up 39-38 with 19 seconds left in the game. He then successfully ran the ball in for a 2 point conversion to make the final score 41-38.

The might Trojans had been tamed.

BCS Game Summary

The 2006 BCS Championship Game will go down as the best ever in the history of the series. The Longhorns proved that all that talent on the Trojans couldn't overcome an inspired team, particularly one with a quarterback like Vince Young. Young's performance not only got him the MVP award, but a place in history. Nobody had ever shredded a Pete Carroll defense like Young did by completing 75 percent of his passes and rushing for an astounding 200 yards on only 19 carries. It was the performance of a lifetime by both a team and a player, one that put Texas at the top of the college football mountain in 2005 and rightly so.