Texas beat a team with 2 Heisman winners: https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/08/14/2005-usc-football-played-best-games-21st-century/85621940007/.
After surviving the scare in South Bend, USC rolled through the rest of the regular season, advancing to face Texas in the national championship game. There, the Trojans dropped a 41-38 heartbreaker to the Longhorns in what is widely considered to be the greatest college football game of all-time. Naturally, it came in at No. 1 in the rankings. Here is what Ubben had to say about the showdown:
"USC had two Heisman winners in its backfield and was riding a 34-game winning streak, eyeing a three-peat as a touchdown favorite. The back-and-forth battle ended with Vince Young skating inside the pylon on fourth-and-5 to put the Longhorns up with 19 seconds left. Young finished with 267 yards passing and 200 yards rushing and a trio of touchdowns.
"USC coach Pete Carroll called it the greatest individual performance he’d ever seen. It was also the highest-rated BCS game ever and was Keith Jackson’s final game in the ABC booth. It is the standard by which all other games in this century are judged."
Almost two decades later, USC fans still recall fond memories of the Bush Push, and are still heartbroken by the Rose Bowl loss to Texas. The lasting impact of those games highlights their significance within the fan base, and why they are rightfully considered to be two of the best college football games of this century, if not of all-time.
Pretty, pretty good year.