Vince Young bounced on his toes, trying to buy himself some time and searching frantically for a way to win a championship.
And then he took off.
With the national title down to a final play, fourth down and 5 yards to go, Young scrambled untouched for an 8-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left and the No. 2 Longhorns stunned No. 1 Southern California 41-38 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.
"Do whatever it takes," Young said.
He did it all -- and made sure that Texas was second no more to USC and its Heisman Trophy twins, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart.
It was the ultimate revenge for Young, the bitterly disappointed runner-up to Bush for the Heisman Trophy last month.
At the Heisman presentation, Young had a blank stare and reluctantly clapped after he lost in a landslide to Bush. After winning the biggest team prize of all, he beamed with a satisfied smile, hugging anyone he could find.
On a night when he ran for 200 yards and passed for 267 more, Young capped a performance that Texas fans will remember forever by scoring his third TD and running for a 2-point conversion to end Southern Cal's 34-game winning streak and deny the Trojans an unprecedented third straight national championship.
"It's so beautiful," Young said as he received the MVP crystal. "Don't you think that's beautiful? It's coming home all the way to Austin, Texas."
The Longhorns were a unanimous No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 and won the Bowl Championship Series title with the victory in the Rose Bowl.
"This is what it's all about, 41-38 in the final game," said Leinart, the Trojans quarterback and Heisman winner a year ago. "You couldn't ask for anything better. This was a great football game. We gave our hearts, they gave their hearts, and they came out on top."
The Longhorns (13-0) won their 20th in a row. USC (12-1) lost for the first time since a triple-overtime defeat to California on Sept. 27, 2003. Its 34-game winning streak is tied for sixth all-time in Division I-A, behind Oklahoma's 47-game run from 1953-1957.
"Well, we couldn't stop them when we had to," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "The quarterback ran all over the place.
"This is their night," he said. "It's wonderful doing what we've been doing. We didn't get it done."
After the trophy presentation, Young draped his arms around two teammates' shoulders and the three of them sang "We are the champions."
Later, he ran into Leinart and Bush as the USC players walked past the Texas locker room and greeted each with a hug.
Texas coach Mack Brown took Bush aside near the entrance to the locker room and told him, "I thought it was a classy game. Nobody could stop anybody."
When the game was over, Texas players streamed onto the field with the Longhorns' first outright national title since 1969. Young stood on the sideline in a sea of falling confetti, arm raised toward the crowd, and senior tackle William Winston unfurled a big, white Longhorns flag
While the Longhorns' band blared "The Eyes of Texas" in front of a sea of burnt orange, the USC players looked startled. Some put their hands to their heads, while others dejectedly took off their helmets.
Said Leinart: "I still think we're a better football team. They just made the plays in the end."
Leinart did his part in his final college game while Bush was less than his best. Leinart passed for 365 yards, and his 22-yard TD strike to Dwyane Jarrett put USC ahead 38-26 with 6:42 left.
Earlier, Bush soared into the end zone on a 26-yard run, part of his 82 yards rushing. He also had 95 yards on six catches -- and a boneheaded lateral that swung momentum Texas' way in the first half.
"It's been a great run. We've done some special things," Bush said. "I don't think we should be ashamed about anything."
In a game that produced more than 1,100 yards, a defensive stand was key for Texas.
On fourth-and-2 from USC'S 45-yard line with 2:09 left, Carroll gambled. He decided to try to seal the game with his vaunted offense, dubbed by many the best ever in college football, and keep the ball out of Young's hands.
"We knew if we got that fourth-and-2, that was going to be the ball game," All-America defensive tackle Rod Wright said.
But when LenDale White came up inches short, Wright and other Texas defenders jumped in the air and charged off the field as Young trotted on.
"If you make that first down, you're squatting on the football to win the game," Carroll said. "We just missed it. By what -- two inches?"
Young stood in the pocket and passed the Longhorns to a first-and-10 at the 13. After a 5-yard scramble, he misfired on two passes to set up fourth-and-5 at the 8.
The Trojans brought pressure, as they did all night, but Young slid away from it and looked for a receiver. Instead, he found a lane and raced to the right pylon.
"I went through all my progressions, so I just took off with it," Young said.
The Longhorns erupted. One pounded the turf as he lay face down on the turf, while the shocked Trojans futilely looked toward officials, hoping they'd say Young stepped out of bounds.
USC had one last chance, and it wasn't a good one. On the last play of the game from just beyond midfield, Leinart's pass sailed high over Jarrett's head around the 25.
With two of the most storied programs in college football, teams seemingly destined to decide the national title this season, the Rose Bowl was dripping with pageantry and tradition. Tommy Trojan atop Traveler galloped along the USC sideline. Meanwhile, big ol' Bevo, the Longhorns' beloved steer, guarded the Texas tunnel.
The Trojans think of the Rose Bowl as their home away from home -- no team has won the "Granddaddy of Them All" more often. But a Texas-sized contingent of Longhorns fans turned half the hallowed stadium burnt orange and was loud enough to force USC into at least one penalty for delay of game.
Texas led 16-10 at halftime, but being behind after two quarters was nothing new to the Trojans. Four times this season they trailed after 30 minutes and regained control in the third quarter.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was