- January 4th, 2006.
USC leads Texas by five points in the Rose Bowl.
The Trojans are 26 seconds away
from winning back-to-back BCS National Championships.
All they have to do is stop the Longhorns
and Vince Young on fourth down.
Granted, it isn't that simple.
But we're here in the closing seconds
about to witness the climax of arguably
the greatest college football game every played.
No matter what happens next,
so much of what got us to this point
is about to be immediately overshadowed.
To remember how we got here, let's rewind.
(dramatic music)
This game has lived up to the hype.
But how did we get to these two teams,
playing for it all in Pasadena?
For USC, they came into 2005 riding a 22 game win streak.
2004's Heisman Trophy winner, Matt Leinart,
had returned for another season
instead of being a potential top five pick
in the NFL draft.
With head coach Pete Carol call the defense
and first year offensive coordinator, Lane Kiffin
unleashing the thunder and lightning,
Reggie Bush, LenDale White combo,
the Trojans didn't miss a beat.
Aside from some theatrics needed
to get past Notre Dame,
USC's quest for back-to-back outright titles
saw them stretch their win streak to 34.
Becoming part of the conversation
for greatest college football team of all time.
As for Texas, they were riding
the 19 game win streak of their own.
After finishing the previous season with just one loss.
2004 was capped off by a victory over Michigan,
also at the Rose Bowl where Vince Young delivered
an MVP performance then put college football
on notice after the game.
- Yes sir, we'll be back!
- The Longhorns dodged a close call
during a trip to Columbus,
thanks to Cedric Griffin and Young's late game heroics.
But after that, Texas cruised.
They didn't just win out,
they demolished their remaining schedule.
Winning by an average of 37 and a half points.
Which included a 70 to three romp over Colorado
to secure Mack Brown's first ever conference championship.
By December, no one debated which two team
deserved to play for the national title.
Not only had they combined for 53 straight wins
but they were also the only undefeated teams
in the nation.
This was a far cry from the two previous years
which gave us Co-National Champions in 2003
and then in 2004, USC rolled through Oklahoma
in the National Championship.
Leaving us with eight months to wonder,
which of the three other undefeated schools
should of been there instead of the Sooners.
So we've got a championship between the only teams
ranked one and two all season.
But how we got to the other numbers on the scoreboard,
isn't as straight forward.
Back in the second quarter,
three momentum changing, yet questionable plays
stole the show.
The first came with USC up seven, nothing and driving.
Reggie Bush looked to do what he'd done all season,
taking a screen pass 35 yards and into the red zone.
As he was getting tackled, he tried to lateral the ball
to teammate Brad Walker.
Walker and most everyone else did not expect this.
Texas jumped on the fumble and six plays later
hit a 46 yard field goal to get on the board.
Replays shows there was at least a chance of this
being a forward pass instead of a lateral,
which would mean a penalty on USC
and they'd retain possession.
But, there was no review.
Jumping ahead to their next drive,
and once again USC was moving the ball.
Longhorn safety, Michael Griffin,
flew in to prevent a Leinart to Steve Smith touchdown.
The ruling on the field was an incomplete pass
but thanks to the lobbying of some Texas defenders,
the officials reviewed and changed that call.
Making it Texas ball at the 20.
Six plays later, the Longhorns found themselves
with a first down at the USC 22.
Now, this is worth a trigger warning for USC fans
but as we'd find out later in the game,
there was more to this next play
than we realized at the time.
Vince Young kept it on the option
and as he got wrapped up near the 10,
lateraled the ball to Selvin Young,
who's zagged his way into the end zone.
- [Stadium Announcer] Pitched it out, he pitched it out!
- [Will] Replays clearly showed Vince's knee hit the turf
before the ball left his hand
which should of killed the play there
giving the USC defense another chance to make a stop.
However, just like the Reggie Bush lateral,
this play wasn't given an official review.
The touchdown counted and Texas was up nine to seven
while everyone watching was show replays
of his knee hitting the ground.
- [Stadium Announcer] He was on the ground
before he pitched the ball.
- The thing is, officials were in fact
trying to review the play.
Unfortunately for USC human error got in the way.
Despite a crew of specialist brought in
to oversee the use of replay
for the first time ever in a National Championship,
not all of the correct camera sources
had been fed into the system.
The replay booth was left rewinding via TiVo,
while watching a second monitor of the live broadcast,
hoping they'd show a new angle.
As officials scrambled for proof,
Texas snapped the ball for the extra point.
The booth finally saw a camera angle
that clearly showed Young's knee was down
before he pitched the ball
but it was too late.
This also could of been why Bush's lateral
didn't get reviewed as a potential forward pass.
Either way, Texas caught some breaks.
But they're still down five, facing a fourth down.
All eyes are on Vince Young
who can thank his kicker for being in this situation,
but not in a good way.
Entering the game, analysts agreed
that Texas had the edge when it came to special teams.
Kicker David Peno didn't get that memo though.
And after hitting all 10 extra points
in their previous game, he missed the attempt
following Texas' first touchdown.
You could argue he was rushing to beat a review
that wouldn't come but he also opened the fourth quarter
by missing a 31 yard field goal.
Had he hit those make able kicks,
Texas would be down just one in these closing seconds
and rather than warming up without purpose on the sideline,
Peno would actually be on the field.
Instead up five points, USC's defense has the chance
to stop Texas on fourth down and go home victorious.
With the way this game has gone,
it's all too perfect that it comes down to this.
Because tonight already has a long history
of fourth down attempts.
Going back to Texas' very first drive,
Running back Selvin Young was stopped deep in the backfield
by a juiced up USC defense on fourth and one.
On the ensuing possession, the Trojan's drove down
inside the Texas 20.
Facing a fourth and one of their own,
Pete Carol chose not to attempt a 34 yard field goal
and as Leinart too the snap, left of center,
his foot slipped and Texas defenders piled up
to stop him short.
For whatever reason, Bush was motioned out wide,
giving Leinart no support in the backfield
to give him a potential boost.
- [Stadium Announcer] You gotta have Bush in there
for the push, don't ya?
- It wasn't all bad though.
LenDale White's third touchdown of the night
came on a fourth and one, so the next time
they looked to convert it was clear
who was getting the ball.
2:13 left in the game, USC faced a fourth and two
from the Texas 45 with LenDale White
waiting in the backfield.
White was the 235 pound thunder
to Reggie Bush's lightning.
Ironically, this thunder averaged 6.7 yards per carry
on the season and tonight, already had 123 yards
on 19 carries.
Originally from Colorado, White committed to USC over Texas,
claiming the Trojan career rushing record
earlier this season and most importantly,
became friends with Snoop Dogg during his USC tenure.
He was the only player on either side
to convert a fourth down attempt tonight
and found himself just two yards away
from getting his team into victory formation.
He was also the reason USC was facing a fourth and two
instead of a fourth and inches.
White got the ball on third down
but Texas jarred it loose before the line to gain.
USC was able to fall on top of it
but lost a yard in the process
putting them in a less than ideal situation.
White took the fourth down handoff left side
into a mass of bodies, gaining over a yard
but failed to get the full two.
Texas ball, 2:09 remaining.
And nine plays later, we're here.
With so many possibilities of what's to come,
there is one certainty, Vince Young will touch the ball
and so far, when that's happened, he's been pretty good.
He's already completed 75% of his passes for 267 yards
to go along with 192 yards rushing on 18 attempts.
But this isn't just a one game thing,
in 2005, he became the first college QB
to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in one season.
This was his team on and off the field.
In the smartest move that Mack Brown had made
was to simply let Vince be Vince.
Brown, who many believed did his best coaching in February
had removed the reins and his quarterback rewarded him
with not only his first conference title,
but also a chance in the National Championship.
That year, sandwiched between Leinart and Bush,
Young fell just short of winning the Heisman.
This left the kid from Houston and his coach
looking to prove the doubters wrong
and here's their chance.
It's a moment built on massive winning streaks
for both teams.
Countless plays that easily could of gone the other way
and collegiate stars looking to leave
their final marks on the sport.
USC has the chance to close their argument
as the greatest college football team ever
while Texas aims for their first national title
since 1970.
So now, on fourth down with 26 seconds left, it's time.
Welcome to a moment in history.
(crowd cheering)
- [Stadium Announcer] He's going for the corner,
he's got it!
Vince Young scores!
(light clicking off)