Rose Bowl Preview: Hooking the Horns

#1 Southern California Trojans (12-0) vs.
#2 Texas Longhorns (12-0)
The BCS National Championship Game
Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA


The 2005-06 Southern California Trojans are not the best college football team of all time. Contrary to what ESPN has been preaching trying to hype this game even more then it already has been, there are at least three or four teams in the past two decades alone that are better than this USC outfit (Miami ’88, Nebraska ’95, Miami ’01). Their defense is still way too suspect. Their defense was much better last season. Still, they are without a doubt the best college football team this season.

How can you not root for this team? I don’t want to sound like one of those bandwagon fans, but I love USC. I loved them when Carson Palmer was there, and before he got really good (see the first post back in October). I enjoy watching them a whole lot more than I enjoy watching Maryland.

So for some silly reason, I’m going to try and break down their matchup with Texas. We know about the quarterbacks obviously. USC has Matt Leinart. Texas has Vince Young. Pretty even so far. Texas has a better defense, but they are suspect against the run. This isn’t the old-school Nebraska “Black shirts” or anything. They are a solid unit, with amazing speed in the secondary. Texas’ defense is better than USC’s (both talent wise and statistically).

USC has Reggie Bush. Let me say that again. USC has Reggie freakin’ Bush. The most jaw-dropping college player to play since Marcus Allen donned the USC red and gold several decades ago. Texas has Jamaal Charles. Yeah, I know, not very exciting. I mean, I know who he is. But does the average fan know about him? He is second on his team in rushing to his own quarterback. The second best back on USC is LenDale White, and I’m sure that most people know what he is capable of. USC also has Dwayne Jarrett at receiver. Despite a team with two very dangerous running backs, USC still found the time to get Jarrett 1,153 yards in only 12 games. That’s better than most pros do in 16. The Longhorns have some dude named Limas Sweed. USC also has Steve “I don’t play for the Carolina Panthers” Smith. Smith somehow managed to get over 950 yards receiving in an offense in which he is usually the fourth or fifth option. Texas has some no one named Brian Pittman. Or Bobby Pittman. No, actually, it’s Billy Pittman. Who knows and who cares? USC also has Dominique Byrd, one of the best possession tight ends in the college game and a guy who will be lining up for some pro team shortly. Texas has…well, Texas has…um, did I mention Vince Young?

And when you compare the coaches, it’s not even close. USC is led by Pete Carroll. Carroll is a guy who has experience in the NFL. He may not have had the best record, but he led New England to several playoff appearances. He also has, hello, two national championships in college football. Texas is led by Mack Brown. Brown is a guy who has no NFL experience and hasn’t come close to winning the college title game yet. He also squanders more talent than any other coach in college football.

So the outcome should be pretty simple to figure out. Texas is a one-man show. If you stop Vince Young, which is very difficult, the Longhorns have no chance. No team Texas has faced all season has been able to do this. But they played in the weakest BCS conference not named the Big East. Oklahoma had a down year. Texas A&M was one of college football’s biggest disappointments. Nebraska is still years away from getting it’s national powerhouse groove back on. The toughest conference test Texas faced came at home to Texas Tech. Tech had one of the nation’s best offenses to go with one of the nation’s worst defenses. So Texas, aside from an early game against an Ohio State team that was still rotating quarterbacks, hasn’t been tested this season. So no one really had a chance to stop Young. Carroll, his NFL pedigree and his enormous wealth of talent at USC should be able to find a way to stop Young. And as good as Texas’ defense is, there is no way that any college team can stop all the weapons that USC has. Shut down Leinart, just go to White. Stop White and take the risk of getting burned by Bush. Try to stop Bush at the line of scrimmage, and Leinart is going to kill you. The only way Texas beats USC is in a shootout. I don’t see it happening.

Prediction: USC 41, Texas 27