The Big Daddy of Them All
BCS Title Matchup Between Southern Cal, Texas Has Everything, Including Hype

By Eric Prisbell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 4, 2006

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 -- The buildup began 368 days ago, when quarterback Vince Young, immediately after leading Texas to a Rose Bowl victory, vowed to make a return trip to Pasadena this season. The hype continued into the preseason, when Wednesday night's opponents in the Bowl Championship Series title game were ranked 1-2.

They have remained that way all season, stoking an excitement that culminates when invincible Southern California faces unstoppable Texas in what some believe is the most anticipated college football game of all time. As far as compelling elements and subplots, this national championship game is without peer.

"It's hard to open your mouth and talk about this game without superlatives gushing out," said Chris Fowler, the host of ESPN's "College GameDay." "This is the type of event that transcends hardcore college fans. . . . When you put it in the Rose Bowl, which attracts casual sports fans and non-sports fans on a regular basis, I think you've got one of the biggest games anybody here can remember."

Not only is top-ranked USC (12-0) vying to become the first school ever to win three consecutive Associated Press national titles, but the game also will feature all three Heisman Trophy finalists -- Young and USC's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush -- including the past two winners, Leinart last season and Bush this season.

There is also the element of sustained dominance. The Trojans have not lost since Sept. 27, 2003, and their 34-game win streak ranks sixth in Division I history. Second-ranked Texas (12-0) has won 19 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in the country.

Also consider that the game will occur in the sport's most distinguished cathedral, the Rose Bowl, which is hosting a game between the top two ranked teams in the Associated Press poll for the first time since 1969. And the game will be called by venerable ABC broadcaster Keith Jackson, whose distinct voice has become synonymous with the Rose Bowl.

The 77-year-old Jackson, who could be calling the final game of his career, said he cannot remember another football game that had as much buildup as tonight's.

"Including Super Bowls," he said.

Perhaps taking hype to a new level, ESPN has been comparing USC to the best teams of all time.

"I guess we've got 72 hours," Fowler said Sunday, "to put them against the Jedi Council and King Kong and put on headgear and say who would win."

The most attention has centered on the offensive prowess of Texas and USC. The Trojans averaged 50 points and 580 yards per game and have been called the finest offensive squad ever assembled. But they didn't lead the country in points per game; the team that did, naturally, is Texas, with 50.9 per game. The Longhorns have dominated opponents so thoroughly that Young has only played in 34 of 48 possible quarters. If USC has the greatest offense of all time, Young said, "I guess we're the greatest of the greatest of the greatest of the greatest of all time."

Said USC Coach Pete Carroll: "These are two historic offenses. You don't see numbers like this other than in video games."

ABC officials are anticipating a television audience that could surpass the 18.4 million homes that tuned in for the 2003 Fiesta Bowl between Miami and Ohio State, which was the most watched Bowl Championship Series title game.

"This game has so much more anticipation than that one did," said Loren Matthews, ABC Sports senior vice president of programming. "If we have anything, we have all the elements for the highest BCS championship game rating ever."

Part of the attraction stems from the storied histories of both programs. USC has seven Heisman winners; Texas ranks behind only Michigan and Notre Dame with 787 all-time victories.

"We felt like we would be back in this game," Texas Coach Mack Brown said, "and we felt like we would be playing SC in this game."

Perhaps best of all for college football fans, Wednesday's game will provide a satisfactory and definitive conclusion to the 2005 campaign, something the BCS has failed to produce the past two seasons. Last season, an undefeated Auburn team was excluded for the national championship game in the Orange Bowl. Two seasons ago, the odd team out was USC, the top-ranked school in both human polls that was left out of the BCS national championship game but nevertheless was crowned champion by the Associated Press after a Rose Bowl victory.

This season, only two schools entered the final week of the regular season unbeaten, and there was little doubt both would remain so after Dec. 3. As it turned out, USC and Texas beat UCLA and Colorado by a combined score of 136-22.

"It's a good time, I guess, for those at that party at the BCS house," Carroll said. "Can't you picture them? We finally have arrived, and they're going to enjoy the hell out of it because next year all chaos could hit once again."