Read Bleacher Fan’s argument that the 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes were the best team not to win a championship this decade. Read Sports Geek’s argument that the 2004 Auburn Tigers were the best team not to win a championship this decade.
Winning means everything, right? The realistic goal for most teams in college football is to win enough games to reach one of the numerous bowl games on the docket. However, for some teams, the ultimate goal for the season is to not only win the conference, but also compete in and win the BCS national championship game. One team that did not reach the top of the mountain this decade was the 2005 USC Trojans.
The Trojans came into the 2005 season absolutely loaded. They returned reigning Heisman trophy winner and quarterback Matt Leinart along with running back Reggie Bush, who would win the Heisman trophy at the end of 2005. The Trojans won the national title the previous season, and they returned 14 starters from the 2004 team including running back LenDale White, wide receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, and linebacker Darnell Bing. They came into the season on a 22 game winning streak. It should also be noted that while they had no impact on the team that year, the recruiting class for that season featured future NFL draft picks quarterback Mark Sanchez, and linebackers Brian Cushing and Ray Maualuga.
The coaching staff, in addition to head coach Pete Carroll, featured future college football head coaches in current Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin and current Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Southern Cal totally dominated the regular season. Before playing Texas in the national championship game, there was talk that USC belonged in the discussion of the greatest college football teams of all time. Why wouldn’t they be? USC won nine games by at least 17 points. They scored over 50 points an eye-popping seven times during the regular season.
The 2006 Rose Bowl promised to be one of the best college football games we would ever see. The Texas Longhorns had a fine season in their own right. Led by Heisman trophy runner-up and quarterback Vince Young, the Longhorns had run through their schedule with relative ease as they also scored over 50 points on seven different occasions. That included an absolute 70-3 annihilation of Colorado in the Big 12 championship game.
Most pundits, though taking nothing away from Texas, expected the Trojans to cap off an undefeated season with a victory over the ‘Horns. But Young had other plans, essentially putting his team on his back and willing them to a 41-38 victory. He accounted for 467 total yards in the game. I vividly remember watching the game in my living room with buddies and thinking during the game that we were watching something special. As a fan of high scoring games, it is, without a doubt, the best college football game I have ever watched.
Looking back, I still am not sure how that USC team lost. It was loaded. So many stars on one team. They just happened to play against Texas when Young had the game of his life. It seems impossible to not name the 2005 USC Trojans as the greatest college football team of the decade not to win a title.
