Matt Leinart was terrific. Reggie Bush was dynamic. And Len-Dale White was sensational.
But none of those performances could trump that of Texas quarterback Vince Young, who led the Longhorns to a thrilling 41-38 comeback victory Wednesday night in the Rose Bowl.
“It’s a surreal feeling when you’re down by two scores in the fourth quarter and you still think you’re going to win,” Texas coach Mack Brown said.
“We never, ever thought we were going to lose the ballgame.”
In a matchup of monumental winning streaks, Heisman Trophy finalists and jumbo offenses, Texas overcame a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to win its first national championship since 1970. Perhaps even more significantly, at least in a historical sense, the game marked the end of USC’s 34-game winning streak.
“They were great champions tonight,” USC coach Pete Carroll said of Texas. “If you have to hand it over and step aside for somebody, it’s a heck of a team to do that.”
The Trojans took a 38-26 lead when Leinart hit Dwayne Jarrett on a 22-yard touchdown strike with less than seven minutes to play.
But the lead wasn’t safe, not after the Longhorns stuffed White on a fourth-and-2 from the Texas 45 with 2:13 to go. Carroll said it was a “clear” decision to take a pass on punting.
“If we make a first down, the game’s over,” he said. “We had seen what they did the series before, so it didn’t really matter where they started. That was our moment to seal the win. It was a night where we needed to do it on offense, and we weren’t able to.”
Young proved up to the task, leading the Longhorns on the game-winning 56-yard touchdown drive.
But the final score didn’t come easily–or without drama.
Facing a fourth-and-5 from the 8, Young scrambled to his right and sprinted into the end zone, thrilling the Texas portion of a crowd that numbered 93,986.
With 19 seconds remaining, USC drove to the Texas 45. But on the game’s final play, a scrambling Leinart fired high to Jarrett, putting an end to an all-time classic.
“We still think we are a better football team,” Leinart said, “but we just couldn’t make the plays.”
Young finished with 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 19 attempts. He also riddled the USC secondary by completing 30 of 40 passes for 267 yards.
White rushed for 124 yards and three scores, giving him 57 for his career. That broke Charles White’s Trojans record, but it was of little consolation.
“I don’t like losing,” White said. “[But] they came out and played a great game.”
Bush ran for 82 yards on 13 carries, one of which was an all-timer. Early in the fourth quarter, Bush flew around the right corner and somersaulted into the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown that gave USC a 31-23 lead.
But the Longhorns had too much in the end.
“There was a tremendous amount of pressure on them,” said Brown, referring to the Trojans’ historic run. “Those streaks are a difficult thing.”
In the days leading up to the game, Brown said he wanted his players to display confidence–“insecurity is a disease, in my estimation,” he had said–and Young is a perfect reflection of that.
An hour before kickoff, he approached the Texas side of the stadium and waved his hands to fire up the Longhorn faithful. Later he walked alone to the end zone and knelt next to the “T” in Texas.
The enormousness of the moment was not lost on him, and his performance lived up to it.
“Some questioned whether Vince could be a major-college quarterback,” Brown said.
Now there’s no question.
“He is a fantastic football player,” Carroll said.
Texas led 16-10 after a first half that featured fumbles by the players and questionable decisions by the coaches.
USC struck first after Aaron Ross, trying to spin for an extra yard, fumbled a punt return. White scampered home from 4 yards out to give USC a 7-0 lead.
After Texas was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the USC 48, Carroll played Mr. Macho. Rather than attempt a 33-yard field goal by Mario Danelo, who had made his last 10 tries, he had Leinart try a quarterback sneak out of an empty backfield.
Unlike at the end of the Notre Dame game, Leinart couldn’t move the pile.
But there was no reason for USC fans to panic when their Trojans trailed 16-10 at the half. They had rallied from second-half deficits eight times during the 34-game streak–and four times this season.
The Trojans managed to rally again this time, but the Longhorns did them one better.
“We walk out of the Rose Bowl very disappointed,” Carroll said. “This [streak] has been about excellence, about the standard you maintain and hold yourself to. We did that again tonight.
“This team battled like we always do. The challenge now is to show who we really are.”
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
