In the end, the national championship, a dramatic 41-38 Texas victory over USC, came down to defense. Much like we said it would yesterday.

 

USC had scored four straight second-half touchdowns. Its quarterback threw just two second-half incompletions. The Trojans fielded an offense that included the last two Heisman Trophy winners (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) along with the nation's leading scorer (LenDale White), the fella who, at a university that has turned out seven Heisman Trophy winners and several generations of fleet-footed running backs, holds the school's all-time touchdown record.

 

So this offense, perhaps the most feared offense ever to step on a college field, needed just 2 yards to lock up big-time college football's national championship.

 

The most feared offense failed. The Texas defense rose en masse and stuffed White as he attempted to convert a 4th-and-2 at the Texas 45, with just 2 minutes to play.

 

The "pundits" will criticize USC for going for the first down near midfield when they could have punted the ball away and possibly pinned Texas deep. It's a fair criticism, though we think it was a gutsy call that would have ended the game right then and there. It was the right thing to do.

 

The bigger criticism of USC coaching is this: Why was Bush, the most explosive player college football has seen in the past several decades, standing on the sideline with the game, the season and the national title sitting there in doubt? White attempted to run off tackle for the first down. Bush wasn't even a decoy. He stood there, helmet in hand, watching the play from the sidelines.

 

But whatever the reasons, the game ultimately came down to defense. The Texas defense made the one stop it had to. The USC defense could not make one stop when it had to.

 

The Texas defense turned the ball over to its offense and to its scintillating quarterback, Vince Young (pictured here) – the man who today has virtually every Heisman voter second-guessing the ballot they cast for Bush back in November. Young tore apart a USC defense that was not just shaky last night, but had been shaky all season. He ended the day with 267 yards passing, an awe-inspiring 200 yards rushing (for a Rose Bowl record 467 total yards) and three touchdowns, including two in the final five minutes of the game, leading the Longhorns back from a 38-26 deficit late in the fourth quarter.

 

We're not going to say we called it just like that. We didn't. But if you studied the numbers, the outcome is not very surprising. In fact, the game played out just like the numbers heading into the game would have led you to believe it would.

 

Yesterday, we said USC had all the hype, all the stars and all the praise of the "pundits." But we said Texas would win because it had the better defense, the more productive quarterback and the better running game.

 

And last night, when the game counted most, Texas had the better defense, the more productive quarterback and the better running game.

 

That's why it pays to study the Cold, Hard Football Facts. Numbers almost always follow discernible patterns. Two plus two always equals four. Pi is a constant no matter how big the circle. The angles of a triangle always equal 180 degrees.

 

So when the numbers show that one team has the better passer, the better running game and the better defense, it stands to reason that they're the better team.

 

And last night, Texas was the better team. Just like the Cold, Hard Football Facts would have led you to believe if you studied them ahead of time.

 

Fortunately, we were here to show you the patterns in the numbers. As you'll see later today, the "pundits" aren't concerned with the numbers or the Cold, Hard Football Facts. Folks like ESPN's Skippy Bayless would rather shovel shit in your face and try to call it analysis. And, as you'll see later today, shit leaves a foul taste in your mouth.