College football

Horns hook title

TEXAS 41, USC 38: Vince Young's fourth-down TD run with 19 seconds left spoils USC's bid for an unprecedented third straight national title.

By BOB HARIG
Published January 5, 2006

	[AP photo]
	Vince Young eludes Frostee Rucker on his way to the winning 8-yard touchdown run. Texas rallied from a 12-point deficit in the last four minutes. Photo gallery Shelton: A new folk hero Guestbook: Share your opinion

PASADENA, Calif. - Only in Hollywood, right? A script that was too good to be true. A storyline that could not possibly play out.

In a game that college football fans dreamed about all season, the Rose Bowl delivered. All the way to the end.

And history was denied at the hands - and feet - of Vince Young.

The Texas quarterback scrambled for an 8-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left to stun No. 1-ranked USC 41-38 at the Rose Bowl on Wednesday and help the second-ranked Longhorns win their first national championship in 35 years.

In a remarkable performance that earned him game MVP honors, Young rallied the Longhorns from 12 points down in the final four minutes before 93,986 fans in the Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl.

"It's so beautiful," said Young of the MVP crystal he received. "Don't you think that's beautiful? And it's coming all the way home to Austin, Texas."

The redshirt junior rushed for 200 yards on 20 carries and completed 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards to outperform the Heisman Trophy winners on the other sideline, USC's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

"He was obviously the difference in the football game," said USC coach Pete Carroll. "He's really off the charts."

Young helped deny USC a 35th straight victory and kept the Trojans from becoming the first team to win three consecutive Associated Press national titles.

The Longhorns won their first national championship since 1970 and never appeared flustered. They took a 16-10 halftime lead and went ahead of USC again in the third quarter 23-17.

But it appeared that USC's firepower would be too much.

Leinart and Bush were also outstanding. Leinart passed for 370 yards and a touchdown. Bush, who rushed for 84 yards and caught six passes for 95 yards, provided a big fourth-quarter touchdown that figured to be enough. And then there was backup tailback LenDale White who did the dirty work, rushing 20 times for 120 yards and scoring three touchdowns.

And yet it was the yard - inches, really - that White did not get that will haunt him and Carroll.

Leading 38-33 with just over two minutes left, the Trojans went for it on fourth and 2 at the Texas 45. White came up a yard short, giving the Longhorns the shot at their winning touchdown drive.

"If you get the first down, the game is over," Carroll said. "It didn't really matter where they started. You saw how they moved down the field on the previous drive. That was our moment to seal the win and we didn't do it."

From there, Texas needed 10 plays to drive 56 yards and ruin USC dreams.

But it came down to a fourth-and-5 play from the 8, and Young produced - again.

"It was a great football game," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "It's surreal sitting there in the fourth quarter and you're down by two scores and you still think you're going to win. But we never, ever thought we would lose the ballgame."

The Trojans had not lost since Sept, 27, 2003, when they fell in triple-overtime to California. That season, they earned a share of the national championship with LSU by winning the Rose Bowl. Last year, they claimed the BCS title with a victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

If it were not for Young, it would have been three straight.

Young, who finished runner-up to Bush in the Heisman balloting, was sensational. His 16-yard touchdown with 4:03 left gave the Longhorns hope.

There were many who wondered about Texas, if the Longhorns were for real. Nobody doubted USC, which was compared to the greatest college teams of all time.

So it was only natural that the Longhorns felt a bit slighted leading up to the game, hanging out for the past week in USC's hometown. After all, they came in with a 19-game winning streak and had won last year's Rose Bowl. They vowed to be back on this stage, and made it through the season unscathed.

Hearing all the talk about USC certainly served to motivate. Brown joked before the game he wouldn't need to give a pep talk. And Young, asked about USC's offense being among the great of all time - it actually averaged slightly less points per game than Texas - quipped, "I guess we are the greatest of the greatest of the greatest."

Who is to argue now?

The Longhorns stole the national title right out from under the Trojans, in their backyard.

And they are taking the trophy back to Texas.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 01:54:02]