Wait A Second...USC Didn't Win?

By Big12-Fans Writer Mike Archiopoli

In case you didn’t notice...something happened on the way to the USC coronation ceremony, the Texas Longhorns. In what is destined to go down as one of the finest performances in college football history, Texas rallied from a 12 point deficit to win their first undisputed national title since 1969 by a final count of 41-38.

At the very least, this game proved that USC is not one of the greatest teams of all-time. It is hard to express to you how infuriating it was to watch ESPN analysts Mark May and Kirk Herbstreit consistently pick a USC team, that was a 4th down conversion from losing to Notre Dame and a super-human performance by Reggie Bush from losing to mediocre Fresno State at home, to beat some of the countries greatest national champions by 3 touchdowns or more. Yet in the end USC couldn’t even win the national championship, much less beat the 2001 Miami Hurricanes (a team that featured 33 players who would go on to play in the NFL). The greatest part of the whole deal may be that I or the LSU fans (the 2003 BCS champion) don’t have to hear about a “three-peat” anymore.

But this wasn’t about USC, this game was about Texas. For all intensive purposes, Texas spent the month leading up to the national title game virtually ignored. But if you ask Mack Brown, there isn’t a better treatment. As the major media outlets spent December waxing on about USC’s “place” and how Reggie Bush was the greatest running back in college football history, Vince Young and the Longhorns sat back and waited for January 4th. For the 2nd straight Rose Bowl, Vince Young dominated on his way to MVP. Young rushed for 200 yards and threw for another 267 on an amazing 75 percent passing. He was the true star in a game that featured the previous 2 Heisman trophy winners. In winning the national title, Texas not only shattered the myth that Mack Brown can’t win the big one, but they also put a cap on an excellent bowl season for the much maligned Big XII conference. Congratulations to Texas, Mack Brown, Vince Young, and all of the Longhorn fans. With basketball season about to take center stage I wanted to take a moment to reflect on certain things from the title game and the football season in general:

• Has anyone ever made a better case for why the Heisman should be voted on after the national championship game than Vince Young last night? While Reggie Bush may have been a deserving candidate, he was simply human in the game that mattered most. Young on the other hand was on a completely different plain last night. I had thought Young announced himself to the nation in last years Rose Bowl, but this year's game was even more amazing. For me the Vince Young coming out party was against Kansas State in 2003, which was the last game he didn’t start. He led Texas to a win over an arguably superior Wildcat bunch and my only reaction after that game was “we are all in trouble”, and I was right.

• Keith Jackson has no idea what is going on in a football game. I’m frankly not even sure he understands the rules. In fact, on the Texas 2 point conversion he was surprised that the clock didn’t move. I know he was once a great announcer but now he is just lost in the booth. I remember being elated when he announced he was retiring after the first BCS title game (Tennessee and Florida State), he really should have stuck that plan out. I have a theory that he has been functionally dead for the last 5 years and they trot him out to music, ala “Weekend at Bernie’s”, to get him to announce.

• Matt Leinart’s comments that USC lost the game and that his team was the “better football team” were classless. I know that his comments were in the heat of the moment but you have to carry yourself better than that. I thought the media made too much of Leinart and Bush going to the Texas locker room and not enough of Leinart’s post game quotes. In fact, ESPN initially said that it was Pete Carroll who told Leinart and Bush to go to the locker room.

• LenDale White is more talented that most think. The guy can flat out run the football. Almost makes me wish he had stayed at home and gone to Colorado to become their feature back.

• Even though White is talented and a between the tackles guy, why isn’t Reggie Bush even on the field for the 4th and two with two minutes to go? This guy is supposed to be the greatest player in college football history right? It isn’t like the play was so creative that it wouldn’t have helped to have him out there. In a worse case scenario, having Bush on the field provides quite a decoy on what was a very simple and predictable play call.

• I have no idea how Vince Young is going to do at the next level, but it seems that he is just too athletic and punishing of a runner to fail. He has such a graceful running style that makes it look like he isn’t even trying. I’m sure the NFL guys will attempt to change his throwing motion, but I hope they never take away the confidence that he has built up.

• Let me be the one to take the incredibly unpopular position that Reggie Bush will not be a major success at the next level. He has been hyped like no college player I’ve ever seen and it bothers me. So for no other reason than I want to disagree with others I will say that Bush will be good, not great in the NFL and never rush for more than 1300 yards in a season. Another thing to look for is how Bush will react to having to take the majority of the snaps over the course of a 16 game season.

• The Big XII conference went 5-3 with a very tough bowl schedule. As a fan of the conference, it was good to see.

• Kansas looked better than I had seen them play in years. For the first time all season, the offense and defense clicked on all cylinders. Just a shame that QB Jason Swanson, who was finally beginning to put it all together, has to graduate. With many defensive starters graduating it will be interesting to see if Mark Mangino can continue to build up the Jayhawks, in my estimation he will. While the 2006 season may be a step back for the Jayhawks, perhaps 6-6 or 5-7, with a young quarterback in place (either RS Freshman Kerry Meier or true freshman Todd Reesing) for the future the Jayhawks should have more bowl bids headed their direction.

• Missouri mounted an incredible comeback over South Carolina to send Brad Smith out on a high note. While I never have enough faith in Missouri to pick anything big for them, Chase Daniel appears to be more than worthy of filling Smith’s shoes. However, it was truly a pleasure to watch Brad Smith play, he is a special talent and should get some shot at the next level.

• Nebraska won a wild game against Michigan. I don’t know that they will ever reclaim their past championship glory, but I don’t think they will be missing another bowl game anytime soon.

• Colorado looked terrible against Clemson and about every other team they have played since November. I know they were going through a lot of change, but they were just really really bad. However, Dan Hawkins should bring a new fire and perhaps some class to a program that is in dire need.

• Iowa State lost to an excellent football team, plain and simple. TCU was a loss to SMU away from an undefeated season and yet another non-BCS conference debate. The real test for Iowa State awaits them next year, when they once again try to win their first Big XII North title, a task that seems increasingly difficult with both Texas and Oklahoma on the schedule. However, Bret Meyer will be one of the better QB’s in the conference in 2006.

• Texas Tech ran into the best defense (I know they played Texas) that they played all year and lost. There is no shame in losing to a team that could have been undefeated if Tyrone Prothro hadn’t been lost to injury. I have two other major reflections from this game: (1) Cody Hodges is incredibly tough, in his last college game the Tech QB played half a quarter with a torn ACL, and almost led his team to victory. (2) Jamie Christensen kicked the nastiest game winning FG I have ever seen in my entire life. Tech will be back next year and for years to come.

• Oklahoma is going to be a force to be reckoned with next season. With a healthy Adrian Peterson and a seasoned Rhett Bomar, look out. If Texas doesn’t return Vince Young, Oklahoma will have a great chance to win the conference. Not to take anything away from Oklahoma, but the last team left out in the cold from the BCS should just not show up for a bowl game. For the third consecutive year (Texas in 2003, Cal in 2004, and Oregon this season) the team most slighted lost in the Holiday Bowl.

• As for the non-bowl teams from the conference, everyone has major questions. First of all it will be interesting to see if Baylor can maintain the progress they made this season. In addition, you have to wonder if Dennis Franchione can ever build a consistent winner at Texas A&M. As for Oklahoma State, the expectation bar will be raised for second year head coach Mike Gundy in 2006, four wins isn’t going to pass mustard for a program that has seen recent success. Last there is Kansas State, new head coach Ron Prince has assembled a young and relatively inexperienced staff and has the pressure of needing to make a bowl game right away. After two consecutive bowl-less winters and the addition of a 12th game to the schedule, the Wildcat faithful expect nothing less than a bowl bid in 2006.

Non-Big XII Notes
• Tyrone Prothro’s catch against Southern Mississippi was the most amazing catch I have ever seen anyone make.
• Notre Dame ended the season with a 9-3 record and final ranks of 9 and 11. However they only beat two teams with winning records (8-4 Navy and 7-6 Michigan). From the beginning of the season I haven’t thought they were that great and I will stand by that thought into 2006.
• West Virginia brought the Big East a desperately needed measure of respect by beating Georgia. It is scary for the rest of the Big East that both their star RB and QB were freshman.

Related to Nothing Notes
• I recently had tissue grafting surgery; however I’m not sure that it wasn’t more enjoyable than law school final exams.
• I love writing my column for this website and hope that anyone and everyone who reads it will continue to do so. We have only been up and running for a couple months and it promises to only get better. Thanks to Michael and Luke for all their hard work, I look forward to working with everyone on this site.

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