Rose Bowl

Well, that was quite a game, wasn't it? I remember at the Heisman Award ceremony wondering why Vince Young looked so stunned when Bush won; tonight I found out why. In a game in which Bush's most significant contribution was the most bone-headed play I have ever seen, Young stood out as both the best passer and the best runner in the game. Overall the Longhorns seemed faster and stronger, making better and quicker tackles on defense and making the big play on offence whenever they had to.

In a great mistatement, USC coach Pete Carrol said "Well, we couldn't stop them when we had to." No, Pete, you couldn't stop them at all. Texas continually stopped itself with turnovers and missed kicks. USC clearly had no idea how to stop them. And Carrol himself went all Norv Turner on us, having Leinart, who passed for the softest 300 yards ever, carry the ball on a 4th and one in the first half, rather than having one of his several dozen running backs do the heavy lifting.

I think we can put to rest for awhile the whining that Pac 10 teams don't get the respect they deserve. With the conference's performance in bowl games as an indicator of how they perform against elite teams, the Pac 10 has clearly been over rated.