Analysis and Aftermath
Vince Young was named the MVP of the Rose Bowl for the second time (the first time being the 2005 Rose Bowl) becoming only the fourth player in the long history of the Rose Bowl (and, to date, the only player from a Big 12 Conference team) to accomplish this feat.
Though the Trojans converted on 57 percent of third downs on the day (to only 27 percent for the Longhorns), they were unable to gain two yards on the Texas defense when such gain likely would have ensured a Trojans victory. They also hurt themselves with two turnovers in Texas territory early in the game. Mack Brown, previously maligned for his inability to win big games, thus ended the fourth-longest winning streak in Division I-A history – and the longest since a 35-game streak by Toledo ended in 1971 – and, behind Young, who accounted for 839 yards of total offense in his two Rose Bowl appearances, won the first national title for Texas since 1970. Vince Young accounted for 467 yards in the championship game, which is the best performance ever in a BCS Championship game. In winning the BCS national championship game, the Longhorns assured themselves of a first-place ranking in the USA Today coaches' poll, and their achievement was confirmed when AP polling sportswriters unanimously voted Texas number one on January 5, 2006; Southern California finished a unanimous second in each poll. On January 11, 2006, Vince Young would be announced as the winner of the Manning Award, given annually to the nation's top quarterback and based in part on bowl results, unlike any other major college football award.
Four players who participated in the game went on to become top ten picks in the 2006 NFL Draft: Reggie Bush (2nd overall, New Orleans), Vince Young (3rd overall, Tennessee), Michael Huff (7th overall, Oakland), and Matt Leinart (10th overall, Arizona). Taitusi Lutui, Fred Matua, LenDale White, David Kirtmen, Winston Justice, Cedric Griffin, David Thomas, Frostee Rucker, Dominique Byrd, Darnell Bing, Jonathan Scott, LaJuan Ramsey, and Rodrique Wright were drafted in the next six rounds. This was the last game of longtime ABC Sports announcer Keith Jackson's broadcasting career, and was also the last college football game aired on ABC under the ABC Sports name, as ABC's sports division began going by the name of corporate sibling ESPN on ABC in September of that year.
The victory, Texas' 800th of all time, gave UT its fourth national championship in football. Since the game, the media, coaches, and other commentators have heaped praise upon the Texas team, Vince Young, and the Rose Bowl performance. For instance, Sports Illustrated called the game "perhaps the most stunning bowl performance ever". Both the Rose Bowl win as well as the Longhorns' overall season have both been cited as standing among the greatest performances in college football history by publications such as College Football News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Scout.com, and Sports Illustrated. The Longhorns and the Trojans were together awarded the 2006 ESPY Award by ESPN for the "Best Game" in any sport. In December 2006, both Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine picked the game as the Best Sports Moment in 2006. Voters on Yahoo Sports also voted it as the Sports Story of the Year for both college football and overall, edging out 12 other stories in the overall voting and receiving 13,931 votes out of 65,641.
In the days that followed the Longhorns' victory, the Trinity River in Dallas mysteriously turned a "burnt orange" color. Authorities said that it may have been caused by someone dumping dye into the river.
The game received the highest Nielsen ratings for the Rose Bowl since the 1986 Rose Bowl between UCLA and Iowa. In 2007, ESPN compiled a list of the top 100 plays in college football history; Vince Young's game-winning touchdown in the 2006 Rose Bowl ranked number 5.
The 2006 Rose Bowl Game and its unreviewed, controversial officiants' rulings have been cited as a key reason the NCAA Football Rules Committee added a coach's challenge in the subsequent season.
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