Top 10 of the Last 10:The Greatest Team Ever?(Part 1:The Build-Up)

Recap:
10.Rams/Redskins 2006
9.2005 Fiesta Bowl
8.Rutgers/Louisville 2006
7.2006 Orange Bowl
6.2001 Maryland Terrapins
5b.Stanford/USC 2007
5a.App State/Michigan 2007

The 2005 season depending on how you view it in comparison to other seasons is widely considered to be the greatest season in College Football history. Every week was filled with great games and greater success and great stories. The story for this blog is of the 2006 Rose Bowl between USC and Texas, the National Championship. To get to how we got to this point we go back to the past.

In the 1960's, USC and Texas emerged onto the scene as big time contenders. Under Coach Darryl Royal, the Longhorns ran the Wing-T offense(aka the offense Boonsboro runs)and they did it to perfection. In 1963, the Longhorns won their first National Championship beating Navy 28-6 in the Cotton Bowl. As the decade went on, the Longhorns were the top power in the South and would win it again in 1969 after beating Southwest Conference Rival Arkansas and was rewarded with the National Championship trophy by President Richard Nixon afterward.

In 1976, Royal retired and for the next 25 years, Texas floundered around occasionally winning the Southwest Conference and appearing in the Cotton Bowl. The other team in the picture is the USC Trojans. USC first played football in 1888 beating the Alliance Athletic Club 16-0. The game would be the start of a tradition of winning. In 1932, USC established itself on the map of College Football at a time when only teams east of the Mississippi mattered by winning the National Champion undefeated.

In the 1940's and 50's SC would have up and down seasons but through it all appeared in 5 Rose Bowls winning 3. In 1959, the Trojans hired John McKay and it was the start of good times in Los Angeles as in McKay's tenure, USC won 2 Heisman trophies(Mike Garrett in 1965 and OJ Simpson in 1968), 4 National Championships(1962, 1967, 1972, and 1974), 5 Rose Bowls(1962 over Wisconsin, 1967 over Indiana, 1969 over Michigan, and 1972 and '74 over Ohio State), and 9 conference championships. In 1975, McKay left for the NFL and John Robinson was hired. Within 3 years, Robinson coached USC to 2 National Championships in 1978 and 1979 going 67-14-3 from 1976-1982. After Robinson, USC began a sturdy decline.

In 1983, the Trojans had their first losing season in 22 years by going 4-6-1. However, the Trojans bounced back in 1984 under Coach Ted Tollner and went 9-3 winning the Pac 10 and the Rose Bowl over Ohio State. Despite a successful '84 campaign, Ted Tollner would not last long as the Trojans went 6-6 in 1985 and 7-5 in 1986 ending the '86 season losing to Notre Dame 38-37 after leading 37-17 and Auburn in the Citrus Bowl. In 1987, USC hired Larry Smith. In Smith's first season, USC went 8-4, won the Pac 10 and got back to the Rose Bowl but lost to Michigan State 20-17. However, 1988 brought different fortunes as the Trojans started out 10-0 entering a late-November showdown with 1 Notre Dame in the Coliseum.

With a win, USC would be in contention to be 1 and win the National Championship. However, USC fell short 27-10 and lost the Rose Bowl to Michigan a month later. In 1989, USC had another shot at the 1 Irish with Freshman sensation Quarterback Todd Marinovich. But once again the Irish held strong but the Trojans bounced back and beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl 17-10 3 months later. In 1992, after going 6-5-1, USC fired Larry Smith afterward, the Trojans decided to invest in the past to find a future.

In 1992, USC hired back John Robinson, fresh off of jumping off the sinking Los Angeles Rams ship. In his first year back, Robinson turned USC around sending it back to the top of the Pac 10 sharing the 1993 title at 8-5. In '94 with star receiver Keyshawn Johnson, the Trojans managed to go 8-3-1 en route to a 55-14 blowout of Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl. In 1995, the turnaround was complete and the '95 season was magnificent for the Trojans as they finally ended their 11 game losing streak to Notre Dame, went 9-2-1, won the Pac 10, and beat Northwestern in the Rose Bowl 41-32. Robinson would retire and the next day, Paul Hackett took over.

The Hackett era at SC is forgettable to say the least for the Trojans as they went 33-29 from 1996-2000 and only made 1 bowl appearance(a 28-19 loss to TCU in the Sun Bowl). Meanwhile in Austin, Texas had hit rock bottom by 1998 and was looking for a new coach. So they traveled to Chapel Hill and hired Mack Brown, coach of North Carolina. Mack Brown made an immediate impact and turned the program around quickly going 27-11 in his first two seasons. In 2001, Texas went 11-2 ending the season with a 47-43 victory over Washington. Things wouldn't fare so well for the 6-6 Trojans who fell to Utah 10-6 in the Las Vegas Bowl, the first season under Pete Carroll.

2002, however, for the Trojans turned out to be a great year. The season started out with 2 consecutive wins over Top 25 teams Auburn and Colorado. However, the Trojans hit a bump in the road at Manhatten with a 27-20 loss to Kansas State. They bounced back to shut out Oregon State but fell to Washington State. After that, however, they lost not the rest of the year. The Trojans would go 8-0 to end the season beating ranked teams such as 12 Notre Dame and 3 Iowa in the Orange Bowl by a combined 82-30 to finish at 11-2.

As for the Longhorns, they managed to start 5-0 but fell to Oklahoma and Texas Tech by an average of 7 points earning a spot to the Cotton Bowl(beating LSU 35-20). However, the biggest reward for the Longhorns was earning the 1 recruit in the country...Vince Young. Over the next 2 years, USC would go a combined 25-1 winning 2 National Championships(split with LSU in 03 and beating OU in 04) while picking up star talent such as Reggie Bush, Sedrick Ellis, Steve Smith, Chauncey Washington, LenDale White, Dwayne Jarrett, and Keith Rivers. Meanwhile the Longhorns had trouble winning the Big 12 and beating rival Oklahoma.

In 03, the Longhorns were destroyed by Oklahoma 65-13 and a 12-0 loss against the Sooners in 04 would be the difference for the Longhorns making it to the National Title. However, under Quarterback Vince Young and Running Back Cedric Benson, the Longhorns managed to go 11-1 in 2004, earning a birth to the Rose Bowl where they knocked off Michigan 38-37. After the game Young was quoted in saying "I'll be Back" implying that he'd be in Pasadena again next year...playing for the National Championship. Three days later, USC would destroy Oklahoma 55-19 to win the National Championship in the Orange Bowl.

Going into the 2005 season the general assumption among most College Football fans was that USC was going to run away with their 3rd(or 2 and half or just 2nd depending on how you view)straight National Championship. With a flashy offense and a hard-hitting defense, it seemed that no one could stop the Trojans. Opening day in September would be a demonstration of whats to come for both teams as USC decimated Hawaii in Honolulu 63-17 and Texas demolished Louisiana-Lafeyette 60-3. The following week, both teams faced challenges in the form of Arkansas and Ohio State.

USC managed to destroy Arkansas totaling over 700 yards and winning 70-17 while Texas struggled against the 4 Buckeyes but managed to pull off the upset in Columbus 25-22. In Week 3, USC faced 24 Oregon on the road in what seemed like a challenge turned blow out as the Trojans won 45-13. The following week the Trojans faced the challenge of fighting from behind as they trailed Arizona State 21-3 at halftime and rallied to take the lead with 3 minutes to go to win 38-28. On October 8th, Texas finally faced the demon that had been holding them back for years, Oklahoma. In an uncharacteristic blowout, Texas beat Oklahoma 45-12.

The next week, USC faced a rival of their own, Notre Dame. The Irish was the surprise team of 2005 for they had combined for a 11-13 record over the previous 2 years and had lost to the Trojans 3 times in a row by 31 points. However, this team was explosive and on a cool day in South Bend, they pushed the Trojans to the limit. The Trojans struck first jumping out to a 7-0 lead but Notre Dame responded with a Travis Thomas run to make it 7-7. At the end of 1 the score was:USC 14 Notre Dame 7.

In the 2nd Quarter, the Irish held the Trojans and at halftime it was:Notre Dame 21 USC 14. The 3rd Quarter would be quiet as a Reggie Bush run made it after 3:USC 21 Notre Dame 21. The 4th Quarter would be a tense quarter as Notre Dame took a 24-21 lead to start the quarter but USC took the lead back at 28-24 with 5 minutes to go. However, the Irish were not done as they drove the length of the field to make it 31-28 with 2:04 to go.

The Trojans managed to get the ball at their own 24 with 1:54 remaining. Leinart's first down pass fell incomplete to Dwayne Jarrett. On 2nd Down he was sacked by Trevor Laws losing 10 yards. On 3rd and 20, he connected with Reggie Bush to make it 4th and 9 with under a minute and 20 time go. On 4th and 9, Leinart connected with Dwayne Jarrett for 61 yards and a first down at the Notre Dame 13. Leinart's next pass fell incomplete but he connected with Bush on 2nd and 10 making it 3rd and 4. On 3rd and 4, Bush ran for 5 getting to the Notre Dame 2 yard line.

With under 10 remaining, Leinart rolled left and was tackled 1 yard short and time expired giving Notre Dame a 31-28 victory. Or so the Irish thought at least. With fans pouring onto the field the officials gave SC the ball with 6 seconds to go at the Notre Dame 1 for the ball had been knocked out of bounds. The next(and final play) Leinart faked the spike and was seemingly stopped a yard short until Reggie Bush pushed him in the end zone giving USC the go ahead touchdown and a 34-31 victory. The Trojans had escaped the Irish.

For the next few weeks, neither USC or Texas would be challenged. SC's last real challenge occurred on a warm November night in Los Angeles against Fresno State. Going into the game, the Bulldogs were the Number 16 team in the country with only 1 loss. Many predicted that it would be a blowout but no one told the Bulldogs. Immediately the Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead much to the shock of the LA crowd. But SC would fight back and tie it up. At the end of the 1st Quarter it was USC 7 Fresno State 7.

The 2nd Quarter was much of a surprise itself as Fresno State took an 11 point lead, the 2nd biggest deficit the Trojans faced all year(18 vs ASU). At halftime it was Fresno State 21 USC 13. The 3rd Quarter was all Reggie Bush as he scored two key touchdowns and after 3 it was USC 41 Fresno State 28. With under 10 to go the score remained the same until FSU scored 2 touchdowns in under 15 seconds to make it 42-41. But the Trojans continued to fire as LenDale White scored to make it 47-42. A Mario Danelo field goal would make it 50-42.

The Bulldogs made one final drive attempt at winning and even drove down to the USC 25. However, Paul Pinegar threw his 4th interception of the evening and abruptly, the shootout was over. The Trojans were guaranteed an 11 win season for the 4th year in a row. Reggie Bush had a career performance with 513 total yards. The final weekend of the year would be a display of who's better between the two. USC went up against cross-town rival UCLA(Ranked 11 with a 9-1 record) many predicted it as a challenge for the Trojans.

However, a challenge it was not as USC jumped out to a 24-0 lead going onto win 66-19 as Reggie Bush racked up 260 yards(part of 430 rushing yards by the Trojans)beating his long-time(dating back to High School)rival Maurice Jones-Drew who only had 84. However, as SC was destroying UCLA, the Longhorns made an example of their own in the Big 12 title game. The Colorado Buffaloes were the best team in the Big 12 North at 6-5 and was practically burning out under certain NCAA violations the result was total annihilation of Colorado as in only 37 and a half minutes, the Longhorns racked up 70 points to beat the Buffs 70-3.

In that game, CU only managed under 200 total yards. In comparison, Texas outscored USC but the Trojans had more yards in all categories than the Longhorns. The next day USC and Texas was announced as the National Championship game and a week later, Reggie Bush was awarded with the Heisman trophy. The stage was set and as I always say "Everybody in, everybody in, the shows about to begin, the stars are all here and ready, so everybody in, everybody in".