Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart threw a record five touchdown passes Tuesday and the University of Southern California overwhelmed Oklahoma 55-19 in the championship matchup.
The Orange Bowl win assures the Trojans will end the season just as they started: No. 1.
PHOTO: AFP
"I think we proved tonight that we are the No. 1 team in the country without a doubt," Leinart said.
The much-anticipated battle of unbeatens, No. 1 versus No. 2, turned into a coronation for USC, which had to settle for a share of the national championship last year after being left out of the Bowl Championship Series title game.
"We didn't expect it to be this easy, but the game went our way from the beginning," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "I was a little surprised."
That was no consolation for unbeaten Auburn, the odd team out of the BCS title game this season.
The Tigers (13-0) stated their case with a 16-13 victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night and could have done no worse than Oklahoma against Southern Cal. But they finished second in the final Associated Press poll.
USC became the first team to repeat as AP national champions since Nebraska in 1994-1995 and joined Florida State in 1999 as the only teams to go wire-to-wire -- from preseason to post bowls -- as No. 1.
"I think they're great, and they sure proved it," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "We just got whupped."
The Trojans wrapped up their 2003 national title three days before the BCS championship game by beating Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl.
USC won't have to wait for their trophy this season.
With the aide of four Oklahoma turnovers, the Trojans (13-0) ambushed the Sooners (12-1) with 38 points in the final 20 minutes of the first half.
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville was on hand to witness the rout in a game he believed his team should have been playing in.
"It's a little empty feeling," Tuberville said of being at the Orange Bowl. "You want to have some kind of recognition."
The first meeting of Heisman winners couldn't have been more one-sided. Leinart set an Orange Bowl record with his five scoring tosses and Jason White spent another BCS title game running for his life.
Oklahoma's Heisman winner finished 24-of-36 for 244 yards with three interceptions and two touchdowns.
Leinart was 18-of-35 for 332 yards and he had the USC band playing "Fight On" all night. The laidback Californian who replaced Carson Palmer became the first Heisman winner to win a national title since Michigan's Charles Woodson in 1997.
Leinhart looked nothing like the overrated quarterback for an average offense as Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine described him.
He tossed four scores in the first half as the Trojans turned an early 7-0 deficit into a 38-10 halftime lead.
And when the demolition had ended, the Trojans bounced and danced their way to the locker room, grooving in the end zone as Outkast's "Hey Yeah" blared through Pro Player Stadium. Meanwhile, the Sooners trudged off having already allowed more points in a bowl game than any team in school history.
Leinart shrugged off Birdine's comment and played great in what could be his farewell to college football. The junior could be a top pick in the next NFL draft.
He also got plenty of help. The Trojans reached a season high for points and turned the game into a USC highlight reel, with Leinart making pinpoint passes and his receivers making spectacular catches.
Steve Smith caught an Orange Bowl record three touchdown, LenDale White ran for 118 yards and two scores and the USC's defense smothered Oklahoma's freshman sensation Adrian Peterson.
Peterson, the Heisman runner-up, managed just 82 yards on 25 carries.
Sugar Bowl
Auburn 16, Virginia Tech 13
Jason Campbell threw a touchdown pass, John Vaughn kicked three short field goals and Auburn completed a perfect season with a 16-13 victory over ninth-ranked Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night.
But was it enough to claim a share of the national title?
The Tigers (13-0) had a couple of second-half turnovers that prevented them from blowing the game open. And they gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass with two minutes left, hurting their chances of swaying the voters to split No. 1 again.
Virginia Tech (10-3) could have made things easier on the Bowl Championship Series by upsetting Auburn, but the Hokies made a couple of major blunders, dropping a pass in the end zone and missing a chip-shot field goal.
When Bryan Randall threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Josh Morgan with 6:58 left in the game, ruining the shutout, one could almost sense that No. 1 Southern Cal, No. 2 Oklahoma and -- especially -- the BCS were breathing a little easier.
Randall dealt another blow to the Tigers when he threw the long touchdown pass to Morgan, perhaps costing a few more votes.
Auburn recovered the onside kick and kneeled down to run out the clock, deciding to preserve the victory rather than try to win more impressively.
Campbell was named MVP after completing 11-of-16 for 189 yards with one interception. Randall threw for 299 yards but was picked off twice.
The odd team out in a troika of 12-0 teams, Auburn settled for a spot in the Sugar Bowl against the Hokies, while USC and Oklahoma were tapped for the Tuesday night's Orange Bowl -- the BCS title game.
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