January 4, 2006
The Rose Bowl
Southern Cal vs Texas
The top-ranked, 12-0 Southern Cal Trojans of coach Pete Carroll were attempting to become the first Belt holder to successfully defend The Belt in 2 consecutive BSC Championship games. While the Trojans dominated Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl the previous season, this season’s opposition was a much more balanced offensive unit in the 2nd ranked, 12-0 Texas Longhorns of coach Mack Brown. All season, pundits had pointed to this game as “the” game that everyone wanted to see & amazingly it lived up to those expectations. The teams combined for 1130 offensive yards but Texas’ All-American QB Vince Young led his team from a 12-point deficit with just 6:42 to play for a 41-38 win to claim The Belt & the BCS National Championship ending the reign of the favored Belt holders at 25 games; the 2nd longest reign in Belt history. Texas forced Southern Cal to punt on their first drive but Longhorns’ CB Aaron Ross fumbled on the return & Southern Cal’s S Scott Ware recovered at the Texas 46-yard line. Four plays later, Trojans’ RB LenDale White scored on a 4-yard touchdown run & Southern Cal had a 7-0 lead. Early in the 2nd quarter, the Trojans appeared to be driving for another score when All-Pac 10 QB Matt Leinart hit All-American RB Reggie Bush for a 35-yard gain but Bush tried to lateral to WR Brad Walker who was not expecting the ball. Texas’ All-American S Michael Huff recovered the ball & the Longhorns had the ball at their own 18-yard line. Texas’ PK David Pino connected on a 46-yard field goal as the Longhorns closed to 7-3. As the Trojans were driving for another score, Longhorns’ CB Michael Griffin intercepted a Leinart pass at the goal line. The play was ruled out-of-bounds on the field but replay showed that Griffin had caught the ball in-bounds before touching his toe on the goal line. Seven plays later from the Southern Cal 22-yard line, Young ran left to the Southern Cal 10-yard line & pitched the ball to RB Selvin Young who carried it the final yards for a touchdown giving Texas a 9-7 advantage. Replays showed that Vince Young’s knee had touched down before he pitched but due to a technical malfunction, it was not reviewed. The rush to beat the video review may have caused Pino to miss the extra-point attempt. Texas got a the ball back at their own 49-yard line after a short punt & RB Ramonce Taylor scored on the 4th play with a 30-yard touchdown run to push the Texas lead to 16-7. Southern Cal’s PK Mario Danelo hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the 1st half with Texas leading 16-10. The Trojans drove 62 yards in 7 plays on their opening drive of the 3rd quarter with White scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to give Southern Cal a 17-16 lead. Vince Young scored on a 14-yard touchdown run after a 7-play, 80-yard drive as Texas retook the lead at 23-17. White’s 12-yard touchdown run put Southern Cal back in the lead at 24-23 with 4:07 left in the 3rd quarter. Pino missed a 31-yard field attempt as the 4th quarter started & Southern Cal drove 80 yards in 9 plays with Bush scoring on a 26-yard run to push the Southern Cal lead to 31-23. Pino connected on a 34-yard field goal as Texas closed to with 5 points at 31-26 but four plays later, Leinart hit All-American WR Dwayne Jarrett on a 22-yard touchdown pass for a 38-26 lead with just 6:42 to play. Vince Young passed for 61 yards & ran for 8 yards on the next scoring drive hitting WR Limas Sweed on a 6-yard touchdown pass but with 3:58 to play, Texas still trailed 38-33. The Trojans then went to work on the clock but facing 4th & a short 2 at the Texas 45-yard line with just 2:13 to play, Carroll decided to run for the 1st down instead of punting. The Longhorns’ defense held White inches short of the 1st down & Vince Young had a chance to win the game with 2:09 to play from his own 44-yard line. Early in the drive on 3rd & 12, Young completed a pass to WR Quan Cosby for 7 yards but a 5-yard incidental facemask penalty gave Texas the 1st down. Young then hit WR Brian Carter for a 9-yard gain, ran for a 7-yard gain, & hit Carter for a 17-yard gain for a first down at the Southern Cal 13-yard line. Facing 4th & 5 from the Southern Cal 8-yard line, Young dropped to pass but unable to find an open receiver he ran to his right the final 8 yards for the go-ahead score. Young ran up the middle to complete the 2-point conversion for a 41-38 lead with just 0:19 to play. Leinart’s final pass to Jarrett was high & the Longhorns had defeated the Belt holding Trojans. Young finished with 267 yards passing as well as 200 yards rushing while being named Rose Bowl MVP & TE David Thomas added 10 catches for 88 yards. Leinart finished with 365 yards passing with a touchdown & interception. White finished with 124 yards rushing & Jarrett added 10 catches for 121 yards for the Trojans. Southern Cal finished the season 0-1 which includes 12 wins vacated as a result of Bush being declared ineligible by the NCAA; Pac 10 Champions & ranked 2nd nationally while the Longhorns finished 13-0, Big 12 Champions & National Champions. Southern Cal had not played for The Belt again.
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