It's not that surprising that Texas took home the national championship this season. The Longhorns were a great team. What is amazing is that 35 years went by since Texas last climbed to the top of the college football mountain. At last, the biggest school in a state that s more crazy about football than any other will be ranked first in the final polls after such a long hiatus. It's been long overdue.
Too hot to handle.
The Longhorns proved they were the better team, but a major error by the referees helped them secure the title. On the drive following USC's last score, a Texas receiver caught a pass and went out-of-bounds with approximately 6:20 left in the game. The clock continued to run, and 30 seconds elapsed. At the time, it appeared that the Longhorns would suffer as they tried to make a comeback. But, when Young strolled into the end zone to give the Texas a 41-38 lead with 19 seconds left in regulation, USC ended up paying the price for the clock error.
With no timeouts, Trojans' quarterback Matt Leinart had to get his team in position for a field goal with minimal time left. It did not happen and the Trojans were denied their third consecutive national title. Still, Texas deserved to win the game, despite being the beneficiary of some bad calls by the officials and some questionable decisions by both the USC coaches and players. The Longhorns had Young, after all. And that is all they really needed. The Trojans had never seen a quarterback like the one they saw last night. They never defended a passer that was so mobile, and it showed.
USC's linebackers were a step slow and could not contain Young, who accumulated 467 yards of total offense. In the Pac-10, USC's defense regularly lines up against pocket passers who work within more traditional offenses. Texas coach Mack Brown and his offensive coordinator Greg Davis have structured their attack in such a way that it allows Young to improvise and turn what appear to be passing plays into big runs. The Trojans were caught off guard.
But as much as Texas grabbed the game from USC's grasp, the Trojans let a victory slip through their fingers. Perhaps hubris caused the fall of their dynasty. Running back Reggie Bush may have started to believe all the hype about his near superhuman ability until he made that ill-fated lateral attempt in the first half. Pete Carroll may have been too confident in his offense's capabilities when he foregoed a field goal attempt to go for it on fourth down in the first quarter. Leinart was then stuffed on a quarterback sneak.
Flash forward three quarters and Carroll tried to kill Texas' chance for a comeback by going for it again on fourth down. This time he elected to do so inside Texas' 45-yard line, but LenDale White was stopped short of the first down with 2:04 left in the game and no Reggie Bush on the field to make Texas think about how it should align its defense.
Two scoring opportunities and a big chunk of field position were the cumulative losses of these aggressive and perhaps unwise decisions. The same risky calls that gave Carroll a victory over Notre Dame in South Bend earlier this season backfired against Texas in Pasadena on Wednesday night.
That is one of the reasons why Texas was standing on the podium and absorbing the confetti that fell from above when the game was over. In the end, they got the breaks and made USC pay for their mistakes. After 35 years, the Longhorns were glad to win a national championship any way they could. And when it was all said and done the Trojans were happy to help Texas' cause.
Please stop the garbage that USC helped Texas win by their mistakes. Texas beat USC period. It was Texas's defense that stuffed USC on 4th down twice, not an error by a player. If the roles were reversed, USC would have been praised for their outstanding defense. Additionally, have you forgotten how bad Texas was in the first half? A disastrous fumble to start off the game for Texas, which would have had great field position. The extra missed point, and missed field goal, stupid penalties. Those errors all evened out. I'm surprised you didn't bring up that fact that Vince Young's knee was down on the 10 yard line. A missed call by the refs! Just like the missed call by the refs in the Notre Dame game where Reggie Bush illegally pushed Matt Leinhart into the end zone for the winning score. And that timeclock issue is absurd. It rushed Texas into having to hurry more than they needed to, so it could have forced them to do a turnover or a ridiculous play. So it worked both ways, so stop with the excuses. USC has been overrated for 2 years beating up on weak PAC 10 teams. The WAC has high scoring offenses but that conference is a joke because they have no defense. The PAC 10 has a little bit better of a defense and we are to take them seriously?! This was the first test for USC and they could not get it done. Fresno State, Arizona State, and Cal, which all finished with sour records are not great wins. Notre Dame got demolished by Ohio State and had 3 losses to finish. Overrated again.
I don't disagree with you at all. USC, you have to admit, helped Texas more than Texas helped USC. Also, if Texas got hurt by the clock error, that would have been equally bad, if not worse. Texas intended to have the clock stop and the referees missed that. The Longhorns deserved to win. They just got a little help along the way.
Oklahoma of last year did 4 USC-styled come from behinds and we them a strong team. USC is lucky that they didn't play a multi-faceted team like Auburn last year, or the tears would have flown earlier. And lastly, lets quit saying that USC was going for their 3rd win. They only won one BCS championship, the only one that is suppose to count. I didn't make the rules. They were only going for their 2nd in a row, so let's put that to bed, shall we?
Once again "Sports Traveler", by your comments, every team that loses, helps the team that wins. It's very rare that a losing team doesn't commit a turnover or a stupid penalty or play. Give me a break. What is your point?! There is no way anyone can agree that USC helped Texas more than vice versa. Once again, a fumble on the opening punt, a missed extra point, and a missed field goal, twice and you don't think that equals or weighs more than USC's. Getting stuffed twice on 4th down is not USC helping, it's a better defense stopping an offense, period. Give credit where it's due and get off the USC didn't play their best program. Ever thought that the winning team caused the lossing team to not be able to play their best. Please refrain from sport's idiocacy. I'm not a Texas fan by the way. Just appreciative of the better team!
I was talking about decisions in this column. Ross, who fumbled, had no control over losing the ball when he got hit on the first punt. He got pummeled. Bush didn't have to pitch the ball on his fumble, Carroll could have kicked a field goal in the first quarter rather than go for it and USC could have elected to try and pin Texas deep in Longhorns' territory late in the fourth quarter. Pino flat out didn't execute when he was called upon for the two kicks he missed. There is a big difference between the "mistakes" Texas made and the poor decisions USC made.
Last edited by sportstraveler on January 5th at 6:35 PM.
Incorrect on Ross. Ross fumbled trying to do a spin move when he was already half way down and had the ball way out from his chest. It was as smart as Reggie Bush's lateral. And how can you possibly question Pete Carroll's 4th and 2 call to go for it that would have sealed the game. You apparently don't understand championship caliber playing. USC was unstoppable until that one and only play in the 2nd 1/2. If you punt maybe it's a touch back. USC couldn't stop Vince Young period from any position. so adding 25 yards to 44 yards would have made no difference. DB Huff and the Texas defense is what made the difference. Once again, not being able to give Texas their due. Please stop with your excuses. Refs, playcalling, laterals, .... Texas is what forced USC to make bad playcalling and mistakes. Give it a rest, please.
Mr. Glutz -- Young and Texas were playing against the clock as much as USC. Twenty extra yards means a lot. Don't forget Young scored with 19 seconds left in the game. There wasn't a lot of time to spare. Also on that 4th down, Carroll didn't have Bush in the game. It wasn't hard to figure out that White was going up the middle if the Trojans were going to run it. Bush, on the other hand, would have made Texas as conscious of securing the edges as the middle of the field. Again, Texas deserved the win, but USC had great opportunities to win the game and missed out on them. The Trojans' failures were greater and had a bigger impact on the game than the "mistakes" Texas made. Secondly, it's ridiculous to compare Ross' fumble with Bush's failed lateral attempt. Bush consciously released the ball. Ross may have been trying to make a play, but he had the ball jarred loose.
Last edited by sportstraveler on January 5th at 6:56 PM.
If Texas deserved to win like you said, then stop "the USC helped them win BS"! Every losing team has something they did wrong or they wouldn't have lost, and that's the point. Not sure what yours really is other than trying to make excuses for USC, instead of admitting that Texas beat them. If USC had one, you would have heard some people exclaiming Texas handing USC the victory with their fumbles, or kicking a field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 4 after the Freshman kicker missed an extra point and a chipshot field goal. Vince Young was ticked that they weren't going for it. I agree Reggie Bush should have been on the field for at least a decoy on that 4th down, but Texas defense did their job when it counted the most against the almighty Trojan offense that should have gotten the 1st if they were the greatest ever. Not my comments, just the majority. Sweet justice!!
Thank you, Rglutz. I would continue on, but it looks like your putting up a good fight. I'm tired of the media/people saying USC didn't play their best. If you look at USC's stats they are pretty incredible. All the media is trying to find an answer for why they picked the wrong team. GET OFF THE USC BANDWAGON! Texas won a fair game. Doesn't the team that loses usually make mistakes. They made mistakes because they felt pressure from Texas and knew they would have to force everything. 4 & 2 going for it was a good call. USC offense got them to the championship, USC offense however could not get them the championship. Congratulations to the whole Texas Longhorn team! The nation enjoyed it!
Thank you sportstraveler for telling it like it was. Despite the animosity you received from Longhorn fans, I thought you were right on (and I'm neither a USC or Texas fan). Great writing, great analysis. I don't know if you'll win, but I believe you'll finish in the top three.
I can't help but jump into this conversation. I agree with unbelogable. Sportstraveler, it was an excellent article and why can't the Texas fans just be satisified they are national champs? This all goes back to the preview article you wrote about the coaching matchup. With two teams so evenly matched it was going to come down to coaching and playcalling to decide the game. Sure enough it did. Pete Carroll made some suspect calls, but stuck with his aggressive style and it cost them quite a bit. To punt at the end of the game would've made it at least 80 yards, if not more for Texas to march in just over two minutes. And Vince Young had not completed any long passes the entire game. You are correct in saying Texas was playing against the clock as much as USC on that last drive.
Great job. Great analysis. Good luck the rest of the way.
exas and Vince Young won this game and deserved to, but I have to agree with Sportstraveler's analysis. I was shocked when the referrees failed to stop the clock when the Texas receiver went out of bounds... I was agnry because I was actually pulling for Texas and at that point they needed all the time they could get. But you are correct to say that the clock failure ended up hurting USC. They were only 15 yards out of field goal range when the clock expired. Also, Reggie Bush and Pete Carrol both made careless decisions. Not kicking the field goal in the first quarter was Carol's biggest blunder. Anyway, great analysis. Texas deserved it, but there is nothing wrong with looking back on the game and pointing out the Trojan's mistakes. And I agree as well that it is ridiculous to compare the two fumbles. Ludicrous in fact.
With all the comments saying that Texas won only because of missed calls by the refs is makign me sick. The article that Kevin Hench posted should be taken down. Dont event know how he became a sports writer with that article. Look at the numbers it is only obvious that Texas should have won the game. I mean Vince Young had only 6 yards less than USC op two runnign backs himself. Reggie had more return yards than he did rushing yards. And all the commotion about the missed call on Young for his knee being down. Well thats not the only missed call that happened that night. It just so happens to be the missed call that everyone can recall. Matt Leinart only had one interception when actually it should have been 2. The refs missed that call as well. When Texas intercepted the ball but the ground caused it to get knocked loose and no replay was giving. That playt here would have prevented a later USC touchdown. It was a very great game that USC didnt bring its A game to. Texas played a better game.
Thank you for the comments. I never said Texas didn't deserve to win the game. The Longhorns performed at an extremely high level. But USC was very good as well and had the game in its hands at one point. The Trojans were up by 12 at one point and could have been up by at least 15 when Texas began its great comeback.
I have something to add that perhaps has not been mentioned by ANYONE on this blog or in the media. Correct me if I am wrong.
Texas deserves credit for clock management on the final TD drive. After all the huffing and puffing all game, that was what ultimately won the game for them. Had they left 10 more seconds on the clock, or if perhaps Carroll had saved his T.O. the outcome might have been different.
Mack beat Pete, that should be noted. I am not a fan of Mack because he was a complete #### during the 2004 BCS process, but now he has his title and hopefully will go back to 10-2 seasons getting blown out by Stoops.
No doubt, Norcalfella. Texas managed the clock beautifully. The Longhorns knew the circumstances and didn't panic. Brown and Young deserve a lot of credit for this.
You guys really need to go back and look at that final drive again. Let's see, there was a face mask call that should have been a 15 yarder with a first down but was called a 5 yarder with the ball spotted 7 yards short of a first down. 7 minus 5 does not equal a first down. Then there's a catch and tackle with the ball being pulled out late, two ref's run in a without hesitation call no fumble while the clock is still running. But wait there is a review that stops the clock when reviewing seem to be a huge problem up untill that point. let's not forgat that 1:04 was put back on the clock. What about the no push off in the endzone with the ref shacking his head no, when a ref does that, he did see it. I could go on but you guy's don't want to hear it...
Yeah, the officiating was boneheaded, I agree. The time clock officials messed up, and that error took 26 seconds off the clock that should have been there. I too thought that might cost Texas, but it ended up costing USC. I didn't see it, as I wasn't paying enough attention during replay, but it has been pointed out numerous times that Vince Young's knee was down before he ran it in. Another major error, though it may not have changed the final outcome. That facemask during the final drive by USC definately wasn't incidental, and that should have been a 15 yarder. That catch and drop that was ruled incomplete was so close that it was hard to tell. In the end, the screwups, and there were many by the officials, probably balanced out.
Thank you, steelersfaninky. There was bad calls both ways, but they all evened out. I don't know about everyone else, but can we stop analyzing the game? The game is over and the Texas Longhorns are national champs. It doesn't matter what happens during the game and all the what if's, it just matters whos on top at the end of the game. I just have to wonder if Texas loses, does anyone talk about their mistakes or would it just be about USC dominating?
My name is Rainer Sabin. I am a 23-year-old freelance reporter who has covered professional and Division I college sports for a variety of publications and news services.
Too hot to handle.
