Sad Day in SoCal

As if 3 hour commutes and a dense fog of pollution wasn't enough for the good folks of LA, the city's biggest sporting attraction, USC Trojans, threw away their chance at immortality last night losing the BCS championship game to Texas, 41-38.

I will say that this was the most exciting college football game I have ever watched. It was for the national championship after all. But I also need to say that it was nowhere near the best. Yes, it was decided by three points. Yes, the second half provided offensive highlight after offensive highlight. Yes, the game was an upset. Sorry, but No - it wasn't very well played, officiated, and definately not well coached by Pete Carroll.

How many times did Texas fumble the ball only to recover it themselves. At least three by my count. They also missed a PAT, short field goal attempt (these are not paid professional athletes so I won't single out the kicker who missed), and tackle after tackle. Vince Young also couldn't complete a pass of more than 10 yards (a small quibble for a guy who went over 400 all purpose yards). But give them credit, they made the plays when they had too and had sense enough to leave the ball in the hands of Young.

The Big Ten officials were clearly too used to boring, slug it out east coast ball to keep up with these high paced offenses. Texas' first touchdown came after a lateral with Young on his knees longer than Paris Hilton on a Saturday night. Then they blew a late fumble and USC recovery that they called an incomplete Texas pass. I'd say that cost USC the game but they did that themselves.

What was Reggie Bush thinking with that lateral attempt inside the Texas 20? Unbelievable. Then Matt Leinart burns a timeout early in the third quarter because he can't get a play off in time? No excuse for that when you know you are headed to a tight finish and will need at least two timeouts in the last five minutes. And what was with the Trojan defense? They missed more tackles last night than Lindsay Lohan's missed meals the past three months. What finally did them in though, was terrible coaching by Carroll. 2nd and 7 with just over 3:00 to play, needing to run down the clock and he calls for a short pass play to the right side. Are you kidding me? Incomplete. A run of no gain would have run 30 more seconds off the clock (and in case you were wondering, Young scored the winning touchdown with 19 seconds left). After a 5 yard run they are left with 4th and 2 on their own side of the field. You punt and make Texas go 80-90 yards when Young hasn't thrown a pass more than 10 yards all night don't you? Apparently not. They had been killing Texas with short pass plays to the left and LenDale White up the middle the enitre second half. The key was that Texas never knew which of those options they were going to choose. So maybe going for it and clinching the game may have been the right call. But then again, if you had Heisman winner Bush, the best running back in college, considered by many to be the greatest back in college history, on your team wouldn't you have him ON THE FIELD for 4th and 2? Again, apparently not. Sitting him on that play let aliens on Mars know that they were running up the middle. Surprise! They get stuffed. Then after Texas scores the go ahead touchdown you blow your last timeout on defending a 2 point conversion. It's a sad day in SoCal when you are outcoached by Mack Brown.

Other observations from this game:

I've watched Texas three times this year and Vince Young made the right choice be deciding to go back to Texas next year. He needs to develop his passing game. He was 30/40 last night but there weren't many run after catch yards. He doesn't lead his receivers very well and NFL Defensive Backs will ight up his receivers if he passes like that in the pros. He also needs to work on arm strength because he doesn't have much on the ball downfield.

They are both Heisman winning QB's from USC but it is unfair to compare Leinart to Carson Palmer. Plamer is stronger, more mobile and has a much better arm than Leinart. I think Leinart is better version of Tampa Bay QB Chris Simms. He makes good decisions, thrives under pressure, throws with accuracy, and is a strong presence in the huddle. However, he lacks mobility and doesn't throw the deep ball very well because he has limited arm strength. Having said that, I would be more than happy to see Broncos move up and draft him as a the future QB after Jake Plummer.

No matter where Reggie Bush ends up he is going to be a star. He is only 200 pounds but he is has blinding speed, great hands, and that rare quality of making tacklers miss him. He's the next Marshall Faulk.

LenDale White should return for his senior year and put on more muscle. He could be the next Jerome Bettis.