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Longhorns capture Rose Bowl
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-06 06:56
PASADENA, California: Vince Young scrambled for an 8-yard touchdown on fourth
down with 19 seconds left and No 2-ranked Texas stunned top-ranked USC 41-38 for
the US college football championship on Wednesday.
Trojans' LenDale
White scores a twelve-yard touchdown at the Rose Bowl.
[Reuters] | Victory gave the Texas Longhorns their first outright national title since
1969, and ended the bid by the University of Southern California Trojans to win
an unprecedented third straight championship. USC's 34-game winning streak since
2003 ended.
Texas (13-0) won its 20th in a row, overcoming the 38-26 lead USC (12-1) held
with 4 minutes left in the Rose Bowl.
The high-scoring game everyone expected broke out in the second half - yet it
was a defensive stop that was the key for Texas. It stuffed USC's LenDale White
on a fourth-and-2 at midfield with 2:09 left, giving it a final chance.
Young, bitterly disappointed at finishing runner-up for US college player of
the year to USC's Reggie Bush, wound up with the ultimate revenge. On a night
when he ran for 200 yards and passed for 267 more, he capped a
player-of-the-game performance by scoring the final touchdown and running for a
2-point conversion.
"It's so beautiful," Young said as he received the MVP trophy. "Don't you
think that's beautiful? It's coming home all the way to Austin, Texas."
USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who gave up NFL millions to return to college
this season, did his part in his final college game while Bush was less than his
best. Leinart passed for 365 yards, and his 22-yard touchdown strike to Dwyane
Jarrett put USC ahead 38-26 with 6:42 left.
Earlier, Bush soared into the end zone on a 26-yard run,
part of his 82 yards rushing. He also had 95 yards on six catches.
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