By now, most college football fans are aware of the glorious storylines surrounding the 2006 Rose Bowl.  In fact, nobody should be surprised by the intricate subplots being circulated by every media outlet this side of Pasadena:  Reggie Bush's wizardry, Vince Young's electricity, Matt Leinart's pageantry, Mack Brown's sanity, Pete Carroll's camaraderie, Texas' capability, and USC's invincibility.  Heck, we've known about all these things for the better part of a year thanks to the national media, which has carefully recycled each storyline several dozen times like the Hulk Hogan era WCW.

No matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, my favorite storyline leading up to the Rose Bowl has not been Reggie Bush's incredible season.  It hasn't been Vince Young's childhood, LenDale White's fake suicide, or Matt Leinart's drinking binge after the Heisman ceremony, either.  It hasn't been Mack Brown's poker face, Pete Carroll's NFL possibilities, or the BCS finally "getting it right."  And, it hasn't even been Booty...  John David Booty, that is, the heir-apparent to Matt Leinart and owner of the best name in college football.

Instead, my favorite story (and the one with the most impact) has been the production of the story by the national media.  If you think about it, the media has not only over hyped The Rose Bowl to the point of Todd Van Poppel, but done something far more damaging and convinced a lot of people that Texas will win.

In reality, there are going to be a lot of cowboys singing sad, sad songs.

When it comes to critical, media-hyped games of this magnitude, I have a personal mantra I like to call The Waterworld Theory.  Most of the time, it's right on the money.  Remember Waterworld with Kevin Costner?  If not, you're probably like the rest of us who intentionally chose to forget it.  At the time, Waterworld was the most expensive movie ever produced and featured a popular main character as well as unprecedented special effects.  The hype that preceded it was equally as enormous and the movie seemed to be on a collision course with box office history.  Whether you were reading a magazine, around the water cooler, or at Blockbuster Video, EVERYBODY was talking about Waterworld.

So, what happened?  Well, it flopped.  Miserably.  Why?  Moviegoers didn't get what they were paying for.  Furthermore, at the end of the day, Waterworld had more to do with flashy effects and lucrative promotions than actual plot substance and marquee acting.  End of story.

That said, I developed this important theory to remind myself and others of a very basic, two-pronged lesson:  hype is almost always an illusion... and Kevin Costner usually sucks.

Say what you want about Wednesday's game, but the theory applies and it can't possibly live up to all the hype.  After all, didn't we hear most of the same arguments for Oklahoma last year that we're hearing for Texas?  Take a second to think about all the quips we heard last season for the Sooners...  A great offensive line!  A Heisman-caliber quarterback!  The best defense ever assembled!  A young, star running back!  The best game ever!  Now, multiply that by two because of Vince Young and this game has last year's Orange Bowl, which ended with a 55-19 score, written all over it.

I'm not contending that Texas isn't one of the best two teams in the nation, they are.  Instead, I'm saying that the media has tricked many into believing the Longhorns are something that they're not.  Consider this...  the only two teams that have come remotely close to legitimately beating USC have been Notre Dame and Fresno State.  The common denominator between the two:  balanced offenses with quick-strike, vertical passing games.  Neither team, top to bottom, was better than USC, but both offenses were built to beat the Trojans and they almost pulled it off.  I know first-hand, as I was one in attendance for the Notre Dame - USC showdown.

Contrary to some belief, the key to this game is the Texas offense, not their defense.  I've said it a million times over the past few weeks, but Texas is not built to beat USC.  Yes, Vince Young is the most athletic quarterback we've seen since Michael Vick, but does his deep ball really scare you?  Are the Longhorns multidimensional or just Vince-dimensional?  Can you honestly look in the mirror with a straight face and say "Texas has a balanced offense" ten times, fast?  I think you get my point.  While the USC defense isn't exactly the '85 Bears, it will be able to match Vince Young's speed, and it excels when opposing offenses rely too heavily on one facet of their game.  In order to stay competitive, Texas will need to have an evenhanded offensive game plan.

Moreover, let's not forget that USC is still the two-time, defending national champions with the first two picks of the NFL draft on offense, and enough all-around depth to make any adjustment under the sun.  So what if the Longhorn defense is one of the best in the nation?  Pete Carroll is a master when it comes to adjusting his attack, a concept that seems to have gotten lost somewhere in the media shuffle.  Take it to the bank, the Trojans WILL put up points on Texas... and they could just do it in droves.

So, while it may be tempting to take the media's hand and walk through the valley of a million storylines, then jump aboard the Texas bandwagon, it's important to remember that hype is almost always a mirage.  Though some will argue with my assessment, I refuse to pick against the best team in the country for the past three seasons simply because I'm "sick" of them or because the media has convinced me otherwise.

Quite frankly, I'm not buying anything other than a USC victory.  I'm sorry, Texas, but every rose has its thorn.

My prediction:  USC 48, Texas 24