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Texas Bound for Rose Bowl After 70-3 Rout of Colorado
Vince Young throws for three scores and runs for another before Texas calls off the attack in a 70-3 rout.
The quarterback pinned one behind his ear. The coach cradled an entire bouquet. The Texas Longhorns came out smelling like roses, with a resounding win that put them one victory away from the national title that has eluded the program for decades.
Led by four touchdowns from Vince Young, the second-ranked 'Horns put a Texas-sized thumping on Colorado, 70-3 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.
Next stop, the Rose Bowl, for the BCS title on Jan. 4 against top-ranked USC, a 66-19 winner over UCLA in a later game Saturday.
"This bunch, all year, has controlled their own destiny, and they did the same today," coach Mack Brown said.
After their thorough dismantling of the Buffs - the eighth-largest margin of victory the program's 113-year history - the 'Horns (12-0) waited to see who their Rose Bowl opponent would be. That was about their only suspense for the day.
"USC has probably the second-best offense, compared to our offense, in the nation," safety Michael Huff said. "It will be a great matchup for us. We just have to line up and play Texas defense, and we'll be fine."
With the game well in hand in the third quarter, some 'Horns fans clad in burnt orange could be seen sniffing yellow roses in the stands to celebrate. The Yellow Rose of Texas - certainly it will be popular symbol in the Lone Star State over the next few weeks. The Longhorns are going for their first undisputed national title since 1969, when Darrell Royal worked the sidelines.
Saturday's win 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.
"To get him this victory, we love playing for a guy like that," Young said.
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.
Credit for taking care of business early - the way great teams do - grabbing a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes and 35-3 midway through the second quarter. And credit for playing relatively mistake-free ball and looking like a true power in this game, the week after many questioned their focus in a 40-29 struggle against Texas A&M.
Young got criticized in that win, many wondering if he was really Heisman material if he couldn't dominate against the 109th-ranked defense in the country. There were no questions this time. In the two-plus quarters he played, he finished 14-for-17 for 193 yards with three touchdown passes.
"I'd just like to say, look at the year," Brown said when asked about his quarterback's Heisman bid. "Vince Young is a great football player and to me, the most valuable player on our football team for sure, and on any team in the country."
His second touchdown throw, a 31-yarder to Limas Sweed (five catches, 102 yards), was well covered but nearly impossible to defend because of the way Sweed screened himself away from the defender and the way Young threw the pass, so nobody but his receiver could catch it.
Young's 8-yard TD to David Thomas was similarly brilliant, thrown toward the sideline as Thomas laid out to make the catch - again well covered, but in a spot where only he could make the play.
Maybe Young's best play, though, was his 2-yard touchdown run, a play in which all four Texas receivers were covered, as were all the outside running lanes for the mobile QB. So, Young simply picked and poked and tiptoed his way through the inside, knocking down his own teammate, guard Will Allen, to get to the end zone standing up.
The blowout got even more out of hand in the third quarter when Texas scored on its first possession, scored again off a blocked punt, then made it 63-3 on a run by Jamaal Charles after CU lost a fumble at its 26.
That score, at the 9:59 mark of the third quarter, gave Young the rest of the day off.
As for Colorado - well - what really is there to say?
Counting their 30-3 loss last week to Nebraska that - sadly for the Buffs - wasn't enough to disqualify them from this game, they have been outscored 100-6 the last two weeks. This debacle comes a year after their 42-3 loss to Oklahoma in the title game. On Saturday, CU trailed 42-3 at halftime.
"A pretty numbing game," coach Gary Barnett called it.
It would have been completely laughable had CU quarterback Joel Klatt not taken a vicious, helmet-to-chin hit from linebacker Drew Kelson in the third quarter that left Klatt lying motionless in the end zone for a few, anxious moments.
Klatt (14-for-24, 100 yards) was diagnosed with a concussion. He was able to stagger off the field, though, and can consider himself lucky if he doesn't remember much of this one.
Asked if he was surprised to see his opponent blitzing while leading by 50, at first Barnett demurred.
Later, though, he said, "I'm surprised we lost the game 70-3, let's say that."
The Longhorns didn't expect that kind of score, either. But they rolled it up, and now they have a few days to relax and feel good about themselves.
Then, it's on to bigger business.
Unlike last season, when Brown practically had to beg for an at-large BCS berth and a spot in the Rose Bowl, this Pasadena trip is undeniably well deserved.
The Longhorns won their 12 games by an average score of 50-14. They scored 40 points 11 times, 50 seven times, 60 four times and hit 70 in this one for the first time since 1996.
Led by Huff and lineman Rod Wright, the defense stayed in the top 10 in the country through most of the season.
Special teams, meanwhile, was solid all year and never more so than Saturday, when the 'Horns blocked a field goal, scored a touchdown off a blocked punt and also got a 54-yard kickoff return from Ramonce Taylor after Colorado's lone score.
The kicking game was supposed to be Colorado's single edge in this game, but the 'Horns took that away, too - one of many indisputable signs that they are, at the least, one of the country's two best teams.
Or maybe the best.
Source: AP
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