Happy Holidays:
From everyone here at RedCups, we wish all of you a Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year’s. We love all kinds of feedback in our post, so don’t forget to leave a comment down below and let us know what you think. And now for the #1 game in our 12 for 12 series.
Date: January, 4th
Location: Rose Bowl. Pasadena, CA.
Time: 8 PM EST.
Background Information:
One team was looking for a chance to 3-Peat. The other was looking to bring an amazing season to a perfect ending. The top 3 Heisman finalists were playing in this game. And in the best stadium in all of College Football, the greatest game of all time was played in 2006. 34 games. The longest active winning streak in all of Division 1 sports. That is what USC was bringing into this game. Back to back National Champions. Looking for a 3 peat and was building a dynasty that is right next to Modern-Day Alabama. Reggie Bush was a legitimate Heisman contender, that would end up winning it (although it was taken away later due to NCAA allegations). Matt Leinart was third in the voting that same year and passed for nearly 4,000 yards and 34 Total Touchdowns. USC had a ball hawking secondary led by DB Darnell Bing (4 INT’s) and a run stuffing front that DL Lawrence Jackson controlled (led the team in sacks with 10 and a future First Round pick in 2008). The Texas Longhorns. Who had the 2nd longest winning streak in the nation with 19. Generational Talent, Vince Young’s last ride in a UT uniform after finished the year with a little over 3,000 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, as well as 1,000 rushing yards and 12 more touchdowns on the ground. Future All-Pro, Jamaal Charles who rushed and caught for 1,000 yards and 13 TD’s. 2 teams with Heisman Frontrunners, rich history, and a ridiculously long winning streak on the line. Something had to give and this game did not disappoint in any way possible.
First Half:
USC would punt the ball on their first drive, only for UT to cough it up and would put the Trojans in great field position. USC would storm down the field and RB Lendale White would plow it in from 4 yards out. (USC 7, UT 0). Vince Young would get his first crack it on offense and would get stonewalled on fourth down, turning the ball over. On the 2nd play of the 2nd quarter, Leinart would throw a screen pass to Reggie Bush out of the backfield and would get a lot of yards. But for some reason tried to lateral it to one of his teammates only for it to be recovered by UT. Vince Young stormed the Longhorns down the field, led by a big run by Young and a pitch and catch to WR Brian Carter. Ramonce Taylor would cough it up and UT would lose 13 yards, and would end up settling for a Field Goal. (USC 7, UT 3). Leinart would get picked off on the next drive in the end zone, that would lead to Vince Young run, lateral to WR Selvin Young that would put the Horns ahead for the first time. They would go on to miss the PAT. (UT 9, USC 7). The Longhorns would get another huge, this time from RB Ramonce Taylor as he rushed for a 30 Yard Touchdown. (UT 16, USC 7). USC would get much as they could in the last 2:30 left in the half and was able to make a 43 Yard FG to put them down 6 heading into Halftime (UT 16, USC 10).
2nd Half:
Texas would go 3 and out as some clutch throws to WR Dwayne Jarrett and some hard running from White put the Trojans back up by 1. (USC 17, UT 16). That would be the beginning of the 2nd half fireworks. Vince Young would take it outside and dive to the pilon and score on a 14 yard run. (UT 23, USC 17). Like two heavyweight boxers in the 12th round, both teams continued trading blows on Offense. Lendale White continued his impressive performance with his 3rd touchdown so far on a 12 yard run. (USC 24, UT 23). David Thomas would get stopped on a 3rd and 4, that would end the next UT drive and a missed 34 yard FG from David Pino was a backbreaker. It would also stop a run of 3 consecutive rushing touchdown drives. After being quiet through 3 quarters, Reggie Bush would finally get things going as he rushed for a 26 yard touchdown on a 9 play 80 yard drive for the Trojans. (USC 31, UT 23). UT would get stuffed on 3rd and 4 on the next drive and David Pino was able to redeem himself and make the next 34 yard FG (USC 31, UT 26). On 2nd and 1, Dwayne Jarrett would catch a deep slant route and continuing to fight through 2 defenders, would dive and the football crossed the plane for a touchdown to put the Trojans up 2 scores for the first time all game. (USC 38, UT 26). Young’s incredible performance was just beginning. He accounted for all 69 of UT’s yards on the next drive. He rushed it in from 17 yards out and with less than 4 minutes to go, it was going to go down to the wire. On 4th and 2 with 2:09 to go, USC decided to put their fate in the hands of Lendale White, who had been playing amazing all game long. He was stuffed a yard shy and UT got the ball back at the 44 yard line. On 3rd and 12, Vince Young’s pass was just short of the first down marker, but a USC facemask kept the drive going. Vince Young would drive down the field with passes to Brian Clark and Young rushes. And with :30 seconds to go. Well, the rest is history.
Key Players from Texas: QB Vince Young, RB Jamaal Charles, WR Jordan Shipley, LB Brian Orakpo, S Michael Huff
Key Players from USC: QB Matt Leinart, QB John David Booty, RB Reggie Bush, RB Lendale White, WR Steve Smith, LB Rey Maualuga, LB Brian Cushing, LB Clay Matthews, CB Terrell Thomas.
How Next Season went for Both Teams:
Texas:
With Vince Young gone, UT was having a QB competition that would end up having Colt McCoy as the starting QB in game 1 against North Texas. Game 2 of the season would give UT some trouble as they had #1 Ohio State coming into town. In the end, Ohio State would win 24-7 and give the Longhorns their first loss is over a year. UT would stroll through most of Non-Conference play with key wins over #14 Oklahoma (28-10) and #17 Nebraska (22-20). UT would get stunned against 7-6 Kansas State that was led by QB Josh Freeman, who passed for 6 TD’s and 15 INT’s that season. The next week they would fall again against Rival Texas A&M, 7-12 after putting up 42 points the week before. After winning a National Title in 2005, UT would take a slight nosedive to the Alamo Bowl, where they would defeat Iowa in a back and forth contest, 26-24. UT would continue being the cream of the crop in the Big 12 under Colt McCoy, but once he left, they haven’t had a double digit winning season yet.
USC:
With Matt Leinart gone and the first year under John David Booty, USC was looking to repeat as heading to another national championship game. But it all came crashing down late in the year. They looked on their way to continued dominance with a win over #19 Nebraska and a 6-0 start. Until they got upset in a back and forth tilt against Oregon State in Corvalis, 33-31. USC would proceed to beat their next 3 opponents by 42, 25, and 20 and were number 2 in the nation heading into Conference Championship Week. Until In-State foe and Rival UCLA. The Bruins would upset the Trojans, 13-9 and since they both had the same record and there was no Conference Championship, USC and UCLA would be crowned Co-Champions. Very similar to the 2014 situation with Baylor and TCU. USC would go on to face Michigan in the Rose Bowl, led by Chad Henne and Mario Manningham. USC would go on to win this Rose Bowl, 32-18 and finish the year 11-2.
Image Credit: https://www.si.com/college-football/photo/2017/09/15/usc-texas-rose-bowl-nfl-careers-reggie-bush-vince-younghttps://thejrreport.com/2017/05/15/reggie-bush-the-product-of-a-flawed-college-football-system/
