In-Vince-ible

You know, I really hated that title when I saw others use it going into the Rose Bowl last night. But it was appropriate as Vince Young was the brightest star in Texas's 41-38 victory over defending champ USC, piling up 467 yds of total offense. My thoughts:

1. It's a shame that whenever I think about this great game, the first thing I'll remember is poor officiating. I expect better from a Big Ten crew. The call on Young's pitch that resulted in a TD was clearly wrong, his knee was obviously down. USA Today reports that a monitor malfunction stopped the officials from reviewing the play. In that game, you find a way to make the right call, whatever it takes. It's inexcusable to do otherwise. In the fourth quarter Keith Jackson pointed out that the clock ran after a pass was caught and taken out of bounds. By my count 27 seconds ran off the clock (I recorded the game on my computer). Do you think USC would have liked 27 more seconds in that game? USC can't blame the loss on these mistakes as they made far too many themselves, but they certainly leave a bad taste in my mouth.

2. USC was arrogant. They played the whole first half and much of the second as if they didn't really believe they could be beaten. They should have kicked the FG in the first half; I think the 4th and 2 call in the 4th quarter was wrong but at least defensible. Reggie Bush made possibly the most boneheaded play I've ever seen when he tried to pitch it. I wouldn't even to that on NCAA Football, unless it was by accident. USC also showed why they needed so many comeback wins this year: the defense was very average. That was one of the most horrendous displays of tackling in a championship game ever. Do you really think you can arm tackle Vince Young?

3. I was not a believer in Vince Young. I'm not ready to vote him into the NFL Hall of Fame as Mack Brown was, but I'll admit he might be able to get there. I don't think I've ever seen a player dominate a game the way he did last night. He was unstoppable. If I was selecting a franchise quarterback in the draft I'd probably still pick Leinart, but now I wouldn't be disappointed to see my team select Young.

4. Memo those talking about trading all your picks to get Reggie Bush: he's just a man. He might be a great player, but "transcendant"? I think not.

5. I don't think this is the end of USC and the rise of a Texas dynasty. There's just too much parity in college football for another team to dominate as happened in the '50s and '60s. I don't think we'll even see a repeat champion in the next 5 years.

6. Did the game live up to the hype? My first impression was no, it was too sloppy and I thought many of the mistakes took away from the great performances. But many others are saying it was as good as the hype. I'll have to think about it more.

If you missed any of the BCS games, you can catch them this weekend on ESPN Classic.