Reggie Bush ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday in No. 1 Southern California's 66-19 victory over No. 11 UCLA, the 34th consecutive win for the top-ranked Trojans and 16th straight against a ranked opponent.
Now only Texas stands between USC (12-0, 8-0 Pac-10) and a perfectly historic season.
The Bowl Championship Series will make it official today: Trojans versus Longhorns on Jan. 4 in the national title game.
The festivities at the Coliseum started with a warm farewell to a senior class that's been part of one of the greatest dynasties in college football history. Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart was last to be honored with a long standing ovation before USC and UCLA played for the 75th time.
Against the 115th-ranked run defense in the country, USC made its intentions clear for the start. Keep it simple and let Bush put a punctuation mark on his Heisman campaign. No doubt both Bush and Leinart will be in New York next Saturday when the big bronze trophy is handed out. And after the way Bush finished off the regular season, it certainly seems like it's his turn hold the hardware.
On the second play from scrimmage, Bush zipped off tackle for 28 yards.
USC ended up driving 70 yards on 16 plays without completing a pass. UCLA (9-2, 6-2) held the Trojans to a 35-yard field goal by Mario Danelo. It was a small victory and one of the few UCLA would be able to chalk up in its seventh straight loss to USC.
No. 2 Texas 70, Colorado 3
At Houston, Vince Young made four touchdowns as Texas embarrassed Colorado, a predictable result that gave them a spot in the BCS title game, Jan. 4 in Pasadena.
With the game well in hand, some 'Horns fans clad in burnt orange could be seen sniffing yellow roses in the stands. The Yellow Rose of Texas -- certainly it will be popular symbol in the Lone Star State over the next few weeks. The Longhorns (12-0) are going for their first undisputed national title since 1969, when Darrell Royal worked the sidelines.
Saturday's win, which was the eighth-largest margin of victory in the program's 113-year history, gave Texas its first Big 12 title since 1996 and the first title of any kind for Brown, the veteran coach who built a reputation for his ability to recruit great teams, but never take them to the ultimate destination.
Many felt there was no way Brown could have messed it up with this group. Against Colorado (7-5), it was never in doubt.
But even though they were playing against a vastly overmatched opponent -- a team they had already beaten 42-17 in the regular season -- the Longhorns deserve credit.
Tulsa 44, UCF 27
At Orlando, Florida, Tarrion Adams had three touchdowns, two of them rushing, and Tulsa's defense shut UCF out in the second half as the Golden Hurricane claimed their first league title in 20 years.
The win sends Tulsa (8-4) to the Liberty Bowl against Fresno State. UCF (8-4), which lost for the second time in 10 games and had a major turnaround season under coach George O'Leary, is expected to play in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24.
Adams had a 15-yard touchdown catch and a 6-yard scoring run in the first quarter -- then sealed the win with a 25-yard run with 6:17 left in the third as Tulsa won for the sixth time in its last seven games. The Golden Hurricane's last league crown came in 1985, when Tulsa won the Missouri Valley Conference.
RSS