College football

Deja vu serves Longhorns well

By MICHAEL SNYDER, Times wires
Published January 1, 2006

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - No.2 Texas has the challenge of playing top-ranked Southern California for the national championship Wednesday in the Rose Bowl. Though USC's campus is 30 minutes from Pasadena, the Longhorns don't feel at a disadvantage. Not after last year, when they made their first appearance in the storied game and knocked off Michigan 38-37.

Everything from an appearance with Mickey Mouse and the gang at Disneyland, to practicing at the Home Depot Center in Carson, to scarfing down prime rib at the Lawry's Beef Bowl to the team hotel in Century City is the same.

"We felt like last year was great preparation for this year," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "I'm in the same room in the same hotel with the same manager at the same practice field. There are a few more (media) here than there were last year. ... It's the same game with more stakes."

Indeed, many Longhorns are trying to enjoy the week despite having to play a Trojans squad that has won consecutive BCS titles and features two Heisman Trophy winners. Whether it was taking a bobsled ride down Disneyland's Matterhorn Mountain or bowling at the uber-hip Lucky Strike Bowl, which is frequented by celebrities, Texas players are trying to have fun while keeping their eyes on the prize - the school's first national championship since the UPI version in 1970.

"We're not stepping out on the field for the first time," senior defensive tackle Rodrique Wright said. "We're not in California staying at a nice hotel for the first time either. I think we'll be a little bit more relaxed."

Said senior tight end David Thomas, "You have to remember there's a game involved. That's the main focus - winning the game."

HISTORY LATER: USC coach Pete Carroll said he doesn't think much about the ramifications of winning three straight championships - his team was No.1 in the final 2003 season AP poll while LSU won the BCS title game and was first in the coaches poll.

"No," Carroll said. "I really don't feel in that regard about making a statement about history or any of that kind of stuff. We're just getting ready for our game. It has never been a focus of our program to look at the end of the rainbow kind of thing here, and we don't do that.

"If I started doing that now, I'd start getting off the mark, and I could only expect that my players would do the same. We're pretty disciplined about all of that. What's it going to do for me? What am I going to get out of it? It doesn't seem like it serves us well to be dwelling on anything beyond what's going on today. However, there will be a time."

POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS: USC is looking into whether it violated NCAA rules by taking recruits to a restaurant owned by a former Trojans player.

Carroll said USC's athletic department had given information to the school's compliance department about the frequent visits. He would not comment further.

John Papadakis, a USC linebacker in 1970-71, owns Papadakis Taverna in San Pedro, Calif. He told the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram that he gives recruits a speech about the Trojans' cardinal and gold colors and closes the meal by urging them to declare, "I want to be a Trojan." As a former player, Papadakis, is prohibited from speaking to recruits about the Trojans.

The Greek restaurant is 25 miles from the USC campus and entrees cost as much as $59.95. The combination of distance and expense appears to go beyond the NCAA stipulation that a recruit's meals should reflect those comparable to normal college life.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]