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Rose Bowl viewer's guide
Win friends and influence people. Casually drop these bits of knowledge around your Rose Bowl party and you'll be a big hit.
Why you should watch
(Beyond the fact that this might be the greatest gridiron conflict in the history of mankind.)
College football owes this to you
Ohio State's win over Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl was an all-timer, and Oklahoma's 2001 Orange Bowl win over Florida State, and Florida State's 2000 Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech weren't without their charm, but the national title games have generally stunk since the BCS was formed. Especially after last year's Orange Bowl between USC and Oklahoma, you're owed a fantastic game in the season finale. With all the hype and all the pub, this thing needs to be a classic.
Greatest season of all time
Arguing about the greatest team of all time is always up for debate, but the winner of this game will have finished with one of the greatest seasons in college football history, if not the greatest. These two, statistically and based on opponents and dominance, have had among the best years ever. A win over the other elite team would only cap it.
Name drop
Your mom knows who Matt Leinart is. These are the non-obvious players who might be household names by Thursday morning.
USC kicker Mario Danelo vs. Texas kicker David Pino
In a game as tight as this might be, the kickers could very easily be the difference. Pino, a senior, finally got the starting nod this year and has been a solid field goal kicker, nailing 12 of 15 tries with his range topping out around the mid-40s. However, extra points have been an ongoing issue, as he missed five this year on 73 attempts. Danelo, a former walk-on and the son of a former New York Giant, could be a major X-factor. He was rock solid this year from close, hitting all 10 of his attempts inside 36 yards, but he missed his only attempt from beyond 40.
Size vs. size: Texas defensive tackles vs. USC offensive guards
It'll be a collision of very large, very talented, and soon-to-be very rich young men in the middle of the line when USC is on offense. USC left guard Taitusi Lutui is the biggest of the bunch at 365 pounds, and he's also one of the nation's best run blockers. Ryan Kalil, a 285-pound junior center, and 305-pound junior right guard Fred Matua will also get long looks from the NFL scouts and need to come up with their best games of the year against one of the nation's best defensive tackle pairs. 315-pound sophomore Frank Okam is a rock on the nose and has quickly grown into a tremendous run stuffer. 315-pound senior Rodrique Wright is a likely first-round draft pick with his all-around skills. Look for him to be a factor in the USC backfield.
The Texas baby backs
USC's Reggie Bush and LenDale White are the marquee running backs, but Texas' young backfield should be just as productive. Speedy sophomore Ramonce Taylor has 11 rushing scores and became a steady, 14-15 carry back over the last four games. True freshman Jamaal Charles is tied with current Chicago Bears rookie Cedric Benson for the most touchdowns by a Texas freshman with 13. The most fun back of the bunch is 270-pound true freshman Henry Melton, who has the quickness of a much smaller back. The thumper tore off 432 yards and 10 touchdowns this year.
Texas tight end David Thomas
Texas' top receiver this year was its tight end, as Thomas had 40 catches for 525 yards and five touchdowns. A two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick, he needs to be Young's safety valve as well as a deep threat down the middle.
Texas strong safety Michael Huff
The Thorpe Award winner as the nation's best defensive back can play either safety or corner. Playing strong safety this year, he's a tackling machine who has to keep Reggie Bush from breaking off game-changing home runs, and he has to be flawless helping out his corners against USC receivers Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett.
USC safety Darnell Bing
A star from the moment he set foot on the USC campus, the 6-2, 220-pound junior will likely be a late first-round draft pick if he chooses to come out this year. The ball-hawking All-American will not only serve as a spy on Vince Young, but also wants to prove he's the best defensive back in this game.
USC wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett
Lost in the shuffle of all the Trojans superstars, Jarrett was the nation's best wide receiver this season and has to combine with Steve Smith to open things up for the ground game. The 6-5, 210-pound sophomore has 136 career catches for 2,002 yards and 28 touchdowns as Matt Leinart's top target. Think former Trojans star Mike Williams, but faster.
Stats and streaks
The nation's most efficient passer is ...
... not Matt Leinart. The USC star finished the year seventh in the nation. OK, so No. 1 is technically Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter after he finally qualified following his performance against Rutgers in the Insight Bowl, but Texas' Vince Young was No. 1 to end the regular season with a rating of 168.6. This will make it the second consecutive game the Trojans have faced the nation's most efficient passer after keeping UCLA's Drew Olson to 14 of 32 passes for 146 yards and a score, a performance which dropped Olson to third.
USC is 5-0 in bowl games when ranked No. 1 by the AP
* 1962 — The Trojans beat Wisconsin 42-37 in a classic Rose Bowl to finish 11-0.
* 1967 — USC beat Indiana 14-3 in the Rose Bowl to finish 10-1.
* 1972 — The Trojans beat Ohio State 42-17 in the Rose Bowl.
* 2003 — USC beat Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl to win the AP national title.
* 2004 — USC destroyed Oklahoma 55-19 to win the Orange Bowl and the national title.
USC won the five games by a combined score of 181-90, or an average score of 36-18.
Fun stats
* Winning streaks: USC 34, Texas 19.
* USC has won 52 of its last 56, and 45 of its last 46.
* USC is 4-0 all-time vs. Texas. 1967: USC won 17-13; 1966: USC won 10-6; 1956: USC won 44-20; 1955: USC won 19-7.
* Texas is the only team ranked in the last seven final BCS polls.
* Texas is the only D-I team to win 10 or more games in the last five years.
* Texas has won eight straight against Top 25 opponents.
The scoring machines
Texas is No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 50.9 points per game and beating its opponents by an average of more than 36 points per game. USC leads the nation in total offense, averaging 580.2 yards per game, and is second in scoring, averaging 50 points per game. USC has won by an average of almost 29 points per game.
The little things
Texas is third in the nation in kickoff returns and sixth in the nation in punt returns. USC leads the nation in turnover margin, taking it away a nation-leading 37 times and giving it away only 15 times.
USC in bowl games under Pete Carroll
Give Carroll and his staff time, and his team rolls. USC has averaged more than 40 points per game in its last three bowls, all BCS games.
Texas offensive line
The Longhorns line of RT Justin Blalock, RG Will Allen, C Kyle Sendlein, LB Kasey Studdard and LT Jonathan Scott has combined to start 150 games. This veteran group has to give Young time to work
Texas has gone 84 straight games without giving up a punt return for a score
The threat to this streak is Reggie Bush. You might have heard of him. 44 career punt returns for 559 yards and three touchdowns.
The main storylines
For a game that deserves Super Bowl hype, here's the necessary overanalysis without the four-hour pregame show.
Can Mack Brown win "the big one?"
His Longhorns beat Oklahoma this season. But does Mack Brown need to beat USC to finally rid himself of the 'can't win the big one' reputation?
Always dogged for failing to come up with the really big wins after losing to Oklahoma year after year, and after losing to Colorado in the 2001 Big 12 Championship when a trip to the national title was on the line, Mack Brown's team has suddenly become great against the top teams. They've won eight straight against Top 25 teams, including a win over Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl and a victory over Ohio State in Columbus earlier this season. A win over USC would finally quiet all Brown's critics who say he can't win despite all the talent he stockpiles.
Reggie Bush and LenDale White against a real, live run defense
While some have already put Bush in the NFL Hall of Fame, he still has yet to show he can crank out big yards against a talented run defense. He only ran for 27 yards last year against Virginia Tech and only had to carry the ball six times against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. And the Texas run defense isn't as paper thin as UCLA's or Fresno State's. Bush will be the No. 1 draft pick, but White can also create a big buzz with an impressive game.
Potential for greatest QB of all-time status
Coming up with the greatest college quarterback of all time is tougher than you think. John Elway never went to a bowl game at Stanford. Peyton Manning is known as much for losing just about every really big game at Tennessee than anything else. Nebraska's Tommie Frazier led some dominant teams and has to be in the mix. And if you want to get pretentious and go old school, TCU's Sammy Baugh was college football's first great passer.
But Matt Leinart, with a win over Texas, will have three national titles to his credit, two BCS national championships, a Heisman, a 38-1 record as a starter, the possible all-time best interception ratio (1.83 percent with the top all-time percentage 2.12). As is, he's arguably the most accomplished college football quarterback ever. One more win would cement his place in history.
Vince Young isn't far behind. He's 29-2 as a starter as one of the game's greatest all-around threats. He's not only an efficient passer, he's also a Reggie Bush-like runner with 2,927 career yards and 34 touchdowns to go along with his 5,773 passing yards and 44 scores. Remember, he's 6-5 and close to 240 pounds. He'll likely be a top 10 draft pick, if not top three, if he chooses to come out early, but if comes back he'll be the favorite for the 2006 Heisman.
And finally ...
USC song girls
One final reason to watch the Rose Bowl is the USC song girls. They're next-level hot, but without the creepy, stripper-wannabe NFL cheerleader vibe. The over-under on number of camera cuts to them: 21.
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Originally Posted by SpartanSteve
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