2006 Rose Bowl The 2006 Rose Bowl Game , played on January 4 , 2006 , was a college football game that served as the national championship of the 2005 – 2006 Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . It featured the only two unbeaten NCAA Division I - A teams : the defending Rose Bowl Champion and Big 12 Champion Texas Longhorns played Pac - 10 titleholders and 2 - time defending AP National Champions , the Southern California Trojans . The game was a back - and - forth contest , and the Texas victory was not secured until the final nineteen seconds of the game . Vince Young , the Texas quarterback , and Michael Huff , a Texas safety , were named the offensive and defensive Rose Bowl Players Of The Game , respectively . Young ' s game winning touchdown run was named the fifth greatest play in college football history by ESPN . The game is widely considered one of the greatest games in the history of college football . Texas ' Rose Bowl win was the 800th victory in school history and the Longhorns ended the season ranked third in Division I history in both wins and winning percentage ( . 7143 ) . It was only the third time that the two top - ranked teams had faced each other in the history of the Rose Bowl , with the 1963 Rose Bowl and 1969 Rose Bowl games being the others . The 92nd annual occurrence of the Rose Bowl Game was played , as it is every year , at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena , California in the United States . This was the final game ever called by longtime broadcaster Keith Jackson ( as well as the final Rose Bowl to telecast under ABC Sports branding ) ; the 2007 Rose Bowl would be an ESPN on ABC presentation . Pre - game buildup . Southern California entered the game with a 34 - game on - field winning streak , then the longest active streak in Division I - A , having been named 2003 AP National Champions by the Associated Press . ( Many of those wins have since been vacated due to NCAA sanctions surrounding illegal benefits given to USC ' s Reggie Bush . ) Texas brought the second - longest active streak , having won 19 straight games , and also entered as Rose Bowl defending champion , having defeated Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl . Their combined 53 - game win streak was an NCAA record for teams playing each other . The game was also the first to have matched teams ranked first and second in every iteration of the BCS standings . This was Texas ' s second trip to the Rose Bowl in two years ( and second trip in the history of UT football ) . A few weeks before the game , USC ' s Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy ( since vacated in 2010 ) ahead of second - place finisher Vince Young . Bush had the second highest number of first place votes in Heisman history ( behind O . J . Simpson ) and the highest percentage of first place votes , while Young had a record number of second place votes . Bush ' s 933 - point margin of victory was the 17th highest in the history of the Heisman voting . The other finalist was USC ' s Matt Leinart , who had won the Heisman trophy in 2004 . This meant that the Rose Bowl would mark the first time that two past winners of the Heisman trophy had ever played in the same backfield . The 2006 Rose Bowl was , in the eyes of many , the most - anticipated matchup in college football history . Both teams were considered to be good enough to win the National Championship had they existed in different years instead of having to play each other . USC had been ranked No . 1 since the preseason and Texas had held the No . 2 spot that entire time . Prior to the game , some commentators had postulated that the 2005 USC team was one of the greatest college football teams of all time . ESPN analysts were virtually unanimous in their declaration of the 2005 USC Trojans as the best offense in the history of college football , despite the fact that they did not lead the nation in points scored ( Texas did ) . Lee Corso was one of the rare analysts who said that Texas was a better team and that they were going to win . ESPN analysts Mark May and Kirk Herbstreit declared , before the 2006 Rose Bowl had even been played , that the 2005 USC Trojans were the second best college football team of the past 50 years ( May placed them behind only the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers ; Herbstreit behind only the 2001 Miami Hurricanes ) . This led to Texas fans at the Rose Bowl mockingly chanting " Best . . . Team . . . Ever " during the post - game celebration . Stewart Mandel of " Sports Illustrated " later observed , " ESPN spent the better part of Christmas season comparing that Trojans squad to some of the most acclaimed teams of all time only to find out that they weren ’ t even the best team that season . " Game summary . First quarter . Southern California received the opening kickoff and managed just three yards against a Texas defense that was especially stout early in the game . Aaron Ross fumbled the ball on the ensuing punt return , committing the first of four Texas fumbles on the day ( although the only one that would be lost ) , and the Trojans recovered . A 23 - yard Leinart pass to senior fullback David Kirtman , who received a hard hit from Cedric Griffin knocking off Kirkman ' s helmet and forcing him to leave the game briefly . Kirkman finished the game with three catches for 61 yards on the day , set up a four - yard touchdown run by running back LenDale White , a bruiser who out - rushed his speedy counterpart , Bush , on the day , gaining 124 yards on 20 carries . Kicker Mario Danelo ' s extra point gave Southern California the early seven - point lead . The teams twice exchanged possessions to end the first quarter , as each defense held the opposing offense in check . Second quarter . On the second play of the second quarter , Reggie Bush exploded for 35 yards off a Leinart pass , reaching the Texas 18 - yard line before attempting to lateral pass the ball to an uncovered teammate ; the loose ball was recovered by Texas strong safety Michael Huff . The Pac - 10 coordinator of football officiating later stated that the Reggie Bush pass was incorrectly officiated , because the pass that had been ruled a lateral was , in fact , an illegal forward pass , after which the Trojans would have maintained possession of the ball . Young drove his team 53 yards on the ensuing possession , twice hitting senior tight end David Thomas , who finished the day as Vince Young ' s leading receiver , catching 10 passes for 88 yards . The Trojans ' defense tackled sophomore running back Ramonce Taylor five yards behind the line of scrimmage , forcing a fumble , which was recovered by Vince Young for an additional five - yard loss . A Texas field goal attempt was thus forced , and David Pino converted from 46 yards to cut the Texas deficit to four . On USC ' s next possession , Leinart once more drove his team into Texas territory , this time to the 25 - yard line , before throwing an interception to Texas free safety Michael Griffin , who appeared to be out of the play but ran halfway across the field before making a leaping catch and barely staying in - bounds , in the end zone . The turnover ended a second Trojans ' drive with Southern California in scoring position . In the forthcoming Texas drive , Vince Young connected with wide receiver Limas Sweed , who caught eight balls for 65 yards on the day , for a key first down . Vince Young then led his team with his legs , capping the drive by running 10 yards before throwing a lateral pass to open running back Selvin Young , who ran for 12 more for the touchdown . The lateral , made after Young ' s knee had touched the ground , was not reviewed because of issues with the replay equipment . The game continued with a failed extra point attempt by Texas , which , not knowing of the equipment issues , appeared to rush the attempt hoping to get the play off before the previous play could be reviewed . The national coordinator of NCAA football officiating later asserted that Young ' s knee had been down , and expressed confusion about how the call had been handled . A defensive stop on USC ' s next possession series and a 15 - yard punt return gave Texas the ball near midfield , and , once again , the Longhorns capitalized with Vince Young finding Thomas for 14 yards on one play , and Taylor running 30 yards for a touchdown on another . The subsequent Pino extra point took the Longhorns lead to 16 – 7 . On the next drive , Leinart threw a pass intended for Reggie Bush that was grabbed by Texas linebacker / safety Drew Kelson . However , Kelson landed on his back after catching the pass and the ball popped out . The pass was ruled incomplete , and again , equipment issues meant no review was possible . The USC drive continued with a Leinart pass to wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett , the top Trojans receiver of the day with 10 catches totaling 121 yards , a quarterback keeper of 14 yards , and a Bush 12 - yard run took the Trojans to the Texas 13 - yard line with 40 seconds to play in the half . However , two sacks by defensive tackle Frank Okam pushed Southern California back 13 yards and forced the Trojans to use two timeouts . Consequently , a Danelo 43 - yard field goal allowed USC three points , and the half ended with Texas still ahead , the score then 16 – 10 . Third quarter . The Trojan defense came back strong from the halftime break and forced a punt on the Longhorns ' opening drive of the third quarter . During the following USC drive , Leinart hit Jarrett for three passes totaling 35 yards , and White added the final 17 yards over two carries , capping the seven - play , 62 - yard drive with a three - yard touchdown run , his second of the game . The touchdown put the Trojans ahead by one , 17 – 16 . Behind the running of Jamaal Charles , who finished the game having carried the ball five times for 34 yards , and Vince Young , who ran the ball 19 times for 200 yards in the game , Texas quickly answered on their possession . Vince Young scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns from 14 yards out , and Pino ' s successful extra point attempt moved the Longhorns back ahead , 23 – 17 . The lead changed hands once more with 4 : 07 to play in the third quarter , as Leinart hit tight end Dominique Byrd for two of his four catches and 21 of his 32 yards in the next drive and set up the next score . Although USC had been stopped on a 4th and short attempt earlier in the game , they decided to make the same gamble again on 4th and 1 from the 12 , and this time White muscled it all the way to the endzone to record his third rushing touchdown of the game and 57th of his career , setting a Southern California record . The Longhorns reached Southern California territory on the ensuing drive , with a 45 - yard run by Vince Young constituting most of the work , but ultimately the Trojans forced a field goal attempt from the USC 14 - yard line , and , on the first play of the fourth quarter , David Pino missed a 31 - yard kick that would have put his team ahead by two . Fourth quarter . Behind the precise throwing of Matt Leinart , who despite his one interception , finished the day with otherwise stellar numbers , completing 29 of 40 passes for 365 yards and one touchdown , the Trojans drove 80 yards over nine plays in 3 : 36 . Reggie Bush scored his only touchdown of the game on a 26 - yard run to end the drive . ( Bush finished the game with 95 yards on just six catches and gained 82 yards on 13 carries ; he also averaged 20 . 2 yards on five punt returns . ) The Longhorns ’ next possession began with an apparent reception and fumble by Jamaal Charles which would have given USC the ball on the Texas 40 , but a controversial replay ruled the catch incomplete . Two Vince Young completions to wide receiver Billy Pittman , who caught four passes for 53 yards on the day , helped the Longhorns drive to the USC 17 - yard line on the next possession . When Young fumbled on third down , Texas settled for a 34 - yard field goal that brought the Longhorns to within five , 31 – 26 . On their ensuing possession , The Trojans gained 48 yards with a 33 - yard Leinart pass to Kirtman and a 15 - yard roughing - the - passer penalty . This set up a 22 - yard toss from Leinart to Jarrett – a play during which Texas cornerback Tarrel Brown was injured while trying to tackle Jarrett at the goal line . Brown and a teammate collided as Jarrett stretched the ball over the goal line , and the successful extra point attempt gave USC its biggest lead of the game , 38 – 26 . As Texas took the ball trailing by two scores with just 6 : 42 to play in the game , Young accounted for all 69 yards of a Longhorns ' scoring drive that took just 2 : 39 to complete , rushing for 25 ( including a 17 - yard touchdown run ) and completing five passes for the rest of the necessary yardage . ( For the game , Young completed 75 percent of his passes – 30 - of - 40 – for 267 yards , with no passing touchdowns and no interceptions . ) A successful Pino extra point again brought Texas to within five with 3 : 58 to play . Though the Longhorns ' defense yielded one first down on the subsequent Southern California drive , it held the Trojans , who turned to LenDale White on a third down at midfield only to see him lose the ball and have it recovered by wide receiver Steve Smith just two yards short of a first down . A Texas timeout stopped the clock with 2 : 13 to play . Then , in what may have proven to be the most pivotal coaching decision of the game , Trojans coach Pete Carroll elected to give his # 2 - ranked offense ( behind only Texas ) , which had averaged 582 . 2 yards and 50 . 0 points per game on the year , an opportunity to convert fourth down and two at the Texas 45 - yard line . However , pre - snap adjustments by the Texas defense , who had failed to stop this same play three times all leading to USC touchdowns , caused White to only gain slightly more than one yard , and Southern California turned the ball over at the Longhorns ' 44 - yard line with 2 : 09 to play in the game . During the next and final Texas drive , the Longhorns faced third down and twelve and converted for a first down at the USC 46 - yard line after a completed pass for seven yards and a Trojans face mask penalty . From there , Young rushed once for seven yards between two passes totaling 26 to little - used wide receiver Brian Carter , moving the ball to the USC 14 - yard line . Facing fourth and 5 from the 9 - yard line , Young received the shotgun snap and found his receivers covered . Young then bolted towards the right sideline and received a critical block from Justin Blalock as he won the footrace to the end zone . The score , Young ' s third rushing touchdown of the game , gave the Longhorns a one - point lead with 19 seconds left to play . When Texas lined up for two , USC used their last time out . Vince Young successfully reached the end zone on the ensuing two - point conversion , giving his team the 41 – 38 lead . The lead held as Leinart took the ball with only eight seconds left and no timeouts , and was only able to drive the Trojans to the Texas 43 - yard line before time expired . The loss would be only the second of Leinart ' s college career , and the first Rose Bowl loss for USC since the 1989 game . Analysis and aftermath . Vince Young was named the MVP of the Rose Bowl for the second time ( the first time being the 2005 Rose Bowl ) becoming only the fourth player in the long history of the Rose Bowl ( and , to date , the only player from a Big 12 Conference team ) to accomplish this feat . Though the Trojans converted on 57 percent of third downs on the day ( to only 27 percent for the Longhorns ) , they were unable to gain two yards on the Texas defense when such gain likely would have ensured a Trojans victory . They also hurt themselves with two turnovers in Texas territory early in the game . Mack Brown , previously maligned for his inability to win big games , thus ended the fourth - longest winning streak in Division I - A history – and the longest since a 35 - game streak by Toledo ended in 1971 – and , behind Young , who accounted for 839 yards of total offense in his two Rose Bowl appearances , won the first national title for Texas since 1970 . Vince Young accounted for 467 yards in the championship game , which is the best performance ever in a BCS Championship game . In winning the BCS national championship game , the Longhorns assured themselves of a first - place ranking in the " USA Today " coaches ' poll , and their achievement was confirmed when AP polling sportswriters unanimously voted Texas number one on January 5 , 2006 ; Southern California finished a unanimous second in each poll . On January 11 , 2006 , Vince Young would be announced as the winner of the Manning Award , given annually to the nation ' s top quarterback and based in part on bowl results , unlike any other major college football award . Four players who participated in the game went on to become top ten picks in the 2006 NFL Draft : Reggie Bush ( 2nd overall , New Orleans ) , Vince Young ( 3rd overall , Tennessee ) , Michael Huff ( 7th overall , Oakland ) , and Matt Leinart ( 10th overall , Arizona ) . Taitusi Lutui , Fred Matua , LenDale White , David Kirtmen , Winston Justice , Cedric Griffin , David Thomas , Frostee Rucker , Dominique Byrd , Darnell Bing , Jonathan Scott , LaJuan Ramsey , and Rodrique Wright were drafted in the next six rounds . This was the last game of longtime ABC Sports announcer Keith Jackson ' s broadcasting career , and was also the last college football game aired on ABC under the ABC Sports name , as ABC ' s sports division began going by the name of corporate sibling ESPN on ABC in September of that year . The victory , Texas ' 800th of all time , gave UT its fourth national championship in football . Since the game , the media , coaches , and other commentators have heaped praise upon the Texas team , Vince Young , and the Rose Bowl performance . For instance , Sports Illustrated called the game " perhaps the most stunning bowl performance ever " . Both the Rose Bowl win as well as the Longhorns ' overall season have both been cited as standing among the greatest performances in college football history by publications such as " College Football News " , the " Atlanta Journal - Constitution " , " Scout . com " , and " Sports Illustrated " . The Longhorns and the Trojans were together awarded the 2006 ESPY Award by ESPN for the " Best Game " in any sport . In December 2006 , both Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine picked the game as the Best Sports Moment in 2006 . Voters on Yahoo Sports also voted it as the Sports Story of the Year for both college football and overall , edging out 12 other stories in the overall voting and receiving 13 , 931 votes out of 65 , 641 . In the days that followed the Longhorns ' victory , the Trinity River in Dallas mysteriously turned a " burnt orange " color . Authorities said that it may have been caused by someone dumping dye into the river . The game received the highest Nielsen ratings for the Rose Bowl since the 1986 Rose Bowl between UCLA and Iowa . In 2007 , ESPN compiled a list of the top 100 plays in college football history ; Vince Young ' s game - winning touchdown in the 2006 Rose Bowl ranked number 5 . The 2006 Rose Bowl Game and its unreviewed , controversial officiants ' rulings have been cited as a key reason the NCAA Football Rules Committee added a coach ' s challenge in the subsequent season .