Vince Young admits he was nervous for national championship game vs. USC

Nearly 20 years later, the 2006 Rose Bowl between Texas and USC is one of the more discussed games in college football. Anytime you see Vince Young, your first thought is the 4th and 5 play, winning a national championship with individual brilliance. And while Young looked like a cool customer in Pasadena, he recently admitted there were a ton of nerves heading into the game.

“Even I was nervous,” Young said on The Herd. “I was a little scared walking into this game. ‘What do I need to do to make the Longhorns successful?’ So, a lot of praying, a lot of extra work, a lot of extra film work with Coach Greg Davis. I took it to the next level because I didn’t want to embarrass us as a University but myself. So, it was a big game and I was definitely afraid.”

Young certainly did not play like he was nervous. Texas certainly displayed confidence from the get-go, not shying away from playing the then-two-time reigning national championship of USC. Playing in their backyard just added to the intensity.

There were no touchdowns through the air for the Longhorns on the night. All five scores came on the ground, with three of them being from Young. Two of those were in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, a legendary stretch people in Austin will never forget.

For as great as the Jan. 4, 2006 night was, the build-up to the game was just as big. Rarely does something live up to the hype but this game did. Young recalls figuring out how massive the event would be a few weeks earlier in New York City, watching Reggie Bush win the Heisman Trophy.

“I sensed it at the Heisman, actually,” Young said on the hype leading into the game. “I was pretty upset that I lost that Heisman. But going up to the game, the hype of it, it was something I’ve never seen before.”

Some might argue Young began the fanfare at the previous year’s Rose Bowl. He guaranteed Texas would be back out West for the national championship game after taking down Michigan, another Rose Bowl classic — although less discussed.

All eyes were on Texas and USC throughout the entire 2005 season, hoping they would meet up with everything on the line. The moment came, built a little more when Bush won the Heisman, not Young, and then somehow, surpassed expectations.