Call it Super Bowl 39 ½.

The two best teams in the country.

By far. 

Two teams that average 50 points and well over 500 yards a game. USC with 35 straight wins, Texas with 19 wins. To top it off, neither team has played in four weeks, when they delivered “message” victories; Texas winning the Big 12 Championship game in a 70-3 romp over Colorado, while USC’s 66-19 blowout of rival UCLA could be best described as “Message Received”.

USC and Texas will square off Wednesday in the most hyped college football game in recent memory. This game is so good on paper; it actually made the BCS look good, which has to be The Law Of Unintended Consequences at work.

Let’s break down The Game.

USC at a Glance - It’s not just the 50 point average, nor the 560 years of total offense per game, it’s not even the 7.5 yards per play (the only team to do better was Army back during the war years when the competition was watered down). It’s the staggering balance. SC is 6^th rushing and fourth in the nation in passing. Picking your poison is never been so lethal.

It starts with Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman trophy winner. He’s seen it all. And with a 37-1 record as a starter with two titles, we need a new word beyond confident. If you’re looking for proof, take another look at the fourth-and-the-season call vs. Notre Dame. Nine yards to go, and he audibles to the skinny post to All-American Dwayne Jarrett, 61 yards later, the Trojans were ready for the kill.

Other Focal Points: Reggie Bush –  When Gale Sayers is comparing Reggie to himself, nothing else needs to be said. He provides a virtually impossible matchup out of the backfield or flanked out wide. This works especially well because of LenDale White, a 230 pound hammer who keeps defenses honest. The USC Offensive Line: If this is the best offense in the history of college football, what does it say about the offensive line that protects Leinart and opens holes for Bush? Letting Reggie Bush get to the second level before he makes his first juke is like giving Superman Kryptonite immunity.

Defense – The Trojan D is not what they were last year. Darnell Bing leads a head-knocking, but vulnerable secondary. It’s the people who aren’t there that you notice. They lost 6 starters over the course of the season to injury. The result is that a defense that was number one versus the rush last year, allowed 38 more yards per game on the ground (118) this year, and has 18 fewer sacks. USC fans were buoyed by the superb defensive performance against UCLA, shutting down a team averaging 40 points a game to 6 points in the first 55 minutes. Texas is another beast altogether.

Texas at a Glance – While USC has deservedly gotten much press for their offensive assault, Texas averaged more points per game at 50.9. They did it with great depth and an unparalled triggerman in Vince Young. Young is no Jason White. White, the 2003 Heisman winner (and the only non-USC player to win it since 2002) put up gaudy numbers in the OU offense, but was exposed in the title game as a very good college QB. He simply did not have enough arm strength to challenge the USC secondary, which choked off the intermediate routes and applied steady pressure. Don’t expect the same to happen Wednesday night. Young is a 6-5 230 pounder who can run by, around, and sometimes over a defender. When in the pocket, he can shake off the initial hit and get the ball downfield.

And make no mistake – it is Young who has the strongest arm on the field. It was Young, not Leinart who led the nation in passing efficiency, with 168.9. Oh, did I mention he ran for more than 700 yards as well? He is the key for everything UT does on offense.

Focal Points –  All-American safety Michael Huff has great range, tough, and the type of guy who can slow down Reggie Bush when flanked out wide. Cedric Griffin is a tough, physical corner who can pressure Jarrett and not give him clean releases. The UT Offensive Line led by an All-American Jonathon Scott outweighs USC by 40lbs a man. They are more than capable of allowing a deep Texas RB corps led by Jamaal Charles and Ramonce Taylor to run downhill. UT averaged 280- yards a game on the ground, and USC has been vulnerable to the run this year.

How to Beat USC:

Pressure. Can a highly ranked Texas defense (which has allowed 14.6 points and a mere 280 yards per game) control the line of scrimmage against a dominant USC offensive line? Texas and possibly Alabama are the only teams that can make that claim. It will take physical play from Texas to keep USC from dominating the line of scrimmage, which is where All-American Rodrique Wright must play big along with his teammates. Leinart has had his games where he got off to a very slow start, but finished with a rush. USC can’t afford that. Texas is banking on it.

Bring The Power and Attack the Edges – Cornerback has been a weakness all year for USC, as  USC is vulnerable to good passing games, and especially the fade routes. UT should be able to run the ball at least some of the time on USC. The road graters upfront will earn their scholarships here as Texas expects to run consistently on the undersized, but quicker USC front seven.

Turnovers – This game will turn on them. I personally believe that Texas can only win with some help provided by USC, and a big play on special teams. Of the two, Texas is more likely, but Reggie Bush is one of the most electric kick returners in the nation. USC has been vulnerable on special teams, but that was due in part to having a slew of defensive injuries that deprived them of special team performers.

How to Beat Texas:

Stay The Course: There is a tendency to think of USC as a pass-happy bunch,  but in fact, they simply carve you up underneath when they aren’t pounding you into submission. Just when a weary defense braces itself, Leinart is throwing the bombs to Jarrett and Steve Smith. Leinart cannot afford a mediocre game such as his first half against UCLA.

Where’s Vince? – USC has never seen a Vince Young, but Pete Carroll has seen a Randall Cunningham, a Steve Young, and a Donovan McNabb. He knows how to teach containment without sacrificing aggressiveness. Vince Young will get some plays, the key is keeping those plays front being backbreakers.

Intangibles – USC is essentially playing a home game. UT won here last year with Young having the game of his life. And while USC has won 35 in a row, they have had several close calls. They are beatable, but humble. 

I’ll give the edge to USC simply because they’ve been there before. Vince Young may be known for his looseness, but Mack Brown isn’t. As far as the best bulletin board material, it has not been provided by either team, but by ESPN with their, “Can USC beat the 1995 Huskers/2001 Miami/2000 St. Louis Rams”? series this past week. Nothing like anointing a team ahead of time to fire up the Other Side.

Summary: I believe that Vince Young will be the best quarterback on the field, but not by a wide margin. If you are looking for the playbook on beating USC, watch the Notre Dame game. Texas is certainly better equipped than the Irish to pull it off, and USC is vulnerable defensively. However, I think Pete Carroll has to be given a decisive edge over Mack Brown, especially with four weeks to prepare. Look for UT to play as physical a game as USC has ever seen. Reggie Bush will be mauled at every step. Someone for UT will emerge (Brown?) as a national star in this game.

But USC has too many damn weapons. And they know how to get it done in the clutch on the biggest stage of all.

Put me down for USC 40, Texas 34