The 2006 Rose Bowl Game, played on January 4, 2006, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was an American college football bowl game that served as the BCS National Championship Game for the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the only two unbeaten teams of the season: the defending Rose Bowl champion and reigning Big 12 Conference champion Texas Longhorns played Pacific-10 Conference titleholders and two-time defending AP national champions, the USC Trojans. Texas would defeat USC (whose loss was later officially vacated)[3] 41–38 to capture its fourth football championship in program history and first consensus national title since 1969. The game was a back-and-forth contest; Texas's victory was not secured until the game's final nineteen seconds. Vince Young, the Texas quarterback, and Michael Huff, a Texas safety, were named the offensive and defensive Rose Bowl Players of the Game.[4] ESPN named Young's fourth-down, game-winning touchdown run the fifth-highest rated play in college football history.[5] The game is the highest-rated BCS game in TV history with 21.7% of households watching it,[6] and is often considered the greatest Rose Bowl game of all time, as well as the greatest college football game ever played.[7][8][9][10]
2006 Rose Bowl presented by Citi
BCS National Championship Game
92nd Rose Bowl Game
"Game of the Century"
Texas Longhorns USC Trojans
(12–0) (12–0[n 1])
Big 12 Pac-10
41 38
Head coach:
Mack Brown Head coach:
Pete Carroll
AP Coaches BCS
2 2 2
AP Coaches BCS
1 1 1
1 2 3 4 Total
Texas 0 16 7 18 41
USC 7 3 14 14 38
Date
January 4, 2006
Season
2005
Stadium
Rose Bowl
Location
Pasadena, California
MVP
Offensive: Vince Young (QB, Texas)
Defensive: Michael Huff (S, Texas)
Favorite
USC by 7
National anthem
LeAnn Rimes
Referee
David Witvoet (Big Ten)
Halftime show
Spirit of Troy
University of Texas Longhorn Band
Attendance
93,988
Payout
US$14.998 million[1]
United States TV coverage
Network
ABC
Announcers
Keith Jackson (play-by-play)
Dan Fouts (analyst)
Todd Harris and Holly Rowe (sideline)
Nielsen ratings
21.7 (35.6 million viewers)[2]
Rose Bowl
< 2005 2007 >
College football championship game
< 2005 2007 >
Texas's Rose Bowl win was the 800th victory in school history[11] and the Longhorns ended the season ranked third in Division I history in both wins and winning percentage (.7143).[11] It was only the third time that the two top-ranked teams had faced each other in Rose Bowl history, with the 1963 Rose Bowl and 1969 Rose Bowl games being the others; these games also featured USC.
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. It was also the final time until the BCS National Championship Game for the 2009 Season that it was broadcast as an ESPN on ABC presentation. In addition, this was the last National Championship Game in the BCS era to be a nominal BCS bowl game (the National Championship and the four BCS bowls became separate events beginning with the 2006 season) as well as the last National Championship Game without a participant from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in consecutive years until the 2024 season.
This was the first college football game to feature two Heisman Trophy winners in the same starting lineup. USC's quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush won the award in 2004 and 2005. While the NCAA normally only vacates victories, USC claims its Rose Bowl loss was later vacated from official NCAA records, along with its 12 wins from before the game, leaving an official 2005 regular season record of 0–0.
This product is an original vintage ticket stub from the 2006 Rose Bowl BCS National Championship game between Texas Longhorns and USC. The game featured player Vince Young and was a significant event in college football history. This item is a collectible piece of sports memorabilia related to the National Championship game.