2005 Texas vs. Ohio State football game

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=First football game between Texas and Ohio State
Date=September 10, 2005
Year=2005
Visitor School=University of Texas at Austin
Visitor Name Short=Texas
Visitor Nickname=Longhorns
Visitor Record=1-0
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=2
Visitor BCS=
Visitor Coach=Mack Brown
Visitor1=10
Visitor2=3
Visitor3=3
Visitor4=9
Visitor Total=25
Home School=Ohio State University
Home Name Short=Ohio State
Home Nickname=Buckeyes
Home Record=1-0
Home

Home Coaches=4
Home BCS=
Home Coach=Jim Tressel
Home1=0
Home2=16
Home3=6
Home4=0
Home Total=22
Type=Regular season game
Stadium=Ohio Stadium
City=Columbus, Ohio NCAATeamFootballSeason
Year=2005
Team=Texas Longhorns

---

Conference=Big 12 Conference
Division=South
ShortConference=Big 12
CoachRank=1
APRank=1
Record=13-0
ConfRecord=9-0
HeadCoach=Mack Brown
OffCoach= Greg Davis
DefCoach= Gene Chizik & Duane Akina
OScheme= Spread Option
DScheme= 4-3
Stadium=Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
Champion=Big 12 Conference, BCS National Champions
Bowl=2006 Rose Bowl
BowlResult=41-38 NCAATeamFootballSeason
Year=2005
Team=Ohio State Buckeyes


Conference=Big Ten Conference
ShortConference=Big Ten
CoachRank=4
APRank=4
Record=10-2
ConfRecord=7-1
HeadCoach=Jim Tressel
OffCoach=Jim Bollman
DefCoach=Jim Heacock
OScheme=Multiple
DScheme=4-3
StadiumArena=Ohio Stadium (c. 101,568, grass)
Champion=
BowlTourney=2006 Fiesta Bowl
BowlTourneyResult=Won 34-20

The 2005 Texas vs. Ohio State football game, played September 10, 2005, was the first-ever meeting between The University of Texas at Austin and The Ohio State University in a college football game. The two teams came into the game ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. It was the second game of the 2005 season for both teams. Schools have become increasingly conservative in scheduling non-conference opponents of a high caliber, so a meeting of two top-five teams in the country was unusual this early in the season. For either team, winning the game would boost their chances of ultimately playing in the BCS National Championship Game while the loser likely faced the end of their national championship hopes.

According to observers such as "USA Today", the match-up between the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes was one of the most-anticipated games of the 2005 season. Due to the high level of anticipation, ESPN chose the game for the location of its weekly College GameDay broadcast.

The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team (variously "Texas" or "UT" or the "Horns") was coached by head football coach Mack Brown and led on the field by quarterback Vince Young. The 2005 Ohio State Buckeyes football team (variously "Ohio State" or "OSU" or the "Bucks") was coached by Jim Tressel. Justin Zwick and Troy Smith shared time as quarterback due to disciplinary measures enforced against Smith. The game was a back-and-forth affair which was ultimately won by Texas, 25-22. The game's attendance was 105,565, which set the then all-time attendance record for Ohio Stadium. The game was televised nationally on ABC and drew 9.9 million viewers.

ESPN and "College Football Rivals", were among the observers who named the game one of the best football games of the season. Texas' win kept them near the front of the national championship picture. They ultimately finished the season unbeaten, snaring the Big 12 Conference and NCAA championships. Ohio State finished the season with ten wins and two losses and ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Leading into the 2005 season

The Ohio State Buckeys and the Texas Longhorns are two of the most storied programs in college football. [cite news | url=http://www.tickco.com/sports/NCAA_Football/ohio_state_football_tickets.htm | title=Ohio State Football Tickets | publisher=TickCo | accessdate=2007-04-12] [cite news | url=http://friends.macjournals.com/mattd/bcswins2002 | title=The BCS wins after all | publisher=Life and Deatherage | accessdate=2007-04-12] cite news | url=http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2005/09/07/Sports/Top-5.Teams.Prepare.For.Primetime-977296.shtml | title=Top 5 teams prepare for primetime | publisher=The Daily Texan | date=September 5, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-12] Before 2005 each school had participated in college football for more than 100 years. They are home to nationally known traditions from the Buckeye leaf stickers and the O-H-I-O chant at Ohio State to Bevo and the Hook 'em Horns of Texas. [cite news | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/trads/osu-m-footbl-trad.html | title=Ohio State Football Traditions | publisher=Ohio State University | accessdate=2007-04-12]

One of the three most victorious programs in college football history as judged by either number of wins or winning percentage,cite news | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/usatoday.com_%20brown_has_texas_savoring_possibilities.pdf | format = PDF | title=Brown has Texas savoring the possibilities | publisher=USA Today | author = Wieberg, Steve | date=December 2, 2005 | accessdate=2006-06-27] the University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse.cite web | url=http://www.ncaaticketsnow.com/texas-tickets.asp | title=2004-2005 NCAA football tickets | accessdate=2006-06-27] cite news |publisher=The Daily Tarheel | author=Fitt, Aaron | url=http://www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2002/09/14/Sportsaturday/Its-Not.About.Mack-1349746.shtml?norewrite200606280132&sourcedomain=www.dailytarheel.com | title=It's not about Mack] From 1936 to 2004, the team finished the season in the top ten 23 times, or one-third of the time, according to the Associated Press. The team that coach Mack Brown fielded in 2005 has been called one of the most memorable in college football history by "College Football News".cite news | author=Fiutak, Pete | url=http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Almanac/CFN_Formula/CFN_FormulaAllTime.htm |title=Formula and Calculations for All-Time Greatest Football Teams | publisher=College Football News | accessdate=2006-06-27]

Like the Longhorns, the Buckeyes are an elite football program. [cite news | url=http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=145&p=2&c=631803 | title=Gators and Buckeyes prove you can win at both | publisher=Scout.com | author=Kendall, Josh | date=April 1, 2007 | accessdate=2007-04-13] [cite news | url=http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/osu/2007/04/02/ddn040207osufootball.html | title=Football team's loss motivates Buckeyes - 'You want to win this game for our football team. Seeing them lose that one hurt.' |date=April 2, 2007 | accessdate=2007-04-13] The Buckeyes program has produced 164 first-team All-American players, including seven Heisman Trophy winners.

The 2005 UT team was attempting to follow on the success of the 2004 season, in which quarterback Vince Young led the team to Mack Brown's first Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game in the 2005 Rose Bowl and a top-5 finish in the polls. With the exception of Cedric Benson, Derrick Johnson, and Bo Scaife, Texas returned most of their key players from 2004–2005, including redshirt junior quarterback Vince Young.

Texas was given a pre-season No. 2 ranking (behind defending National Champions University of Southern California) by "Sports Illustrated" magazine and was also ranked second in the pre-season Associated Press Poll and "USA Today" Coaches Poll.cite web | url=http://preseason.stassen.com/consensus/2005.html#national | title=2005 Preseason Consensus | publisher=Stassen.com | accessdate=2006-07-24 ] This created anticipation that Texas might play for the national championship if they could win their road game against Ohio State Universitycite news | url=http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/preview?gid=200509100033 | title=(2) Texas - (4) Ohio State | publisher=Yahoo.com | date=September 10, 2005 | accessdate=2007-01-17] and if they could snap their five-game losing streak against the Oklahoma Sooners who started the season ranked at No. 7.cite news | url=http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2005/10/13/Sports/Longhorns.Road.To.The.Rose.Bowl.Is.Clear-1432097.shtml?sourcedomain=www.michigandaily.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com | title=Longhorns' road to the Rose Bowl is clear | authors=Geise, John & Kia Hamadanch | publisher=The Michigan Daily | date=October 13, 2005 | accessdate=2007-01-17]

Ohio State had similarly high pre-season expectations with their No. 4 ranking. There was preseason speculation they might win the Big Ten Conference and possibly even to have a chance at the national championship.cite news | url=http://www.docsports.com/ohio-state-buckeyes.html | title=Ohio State Buckeyes Return to the Top | date=July 15, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-12] The team featured a "dynamic duo" of wide receivers in Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes. Holmes entered his junior year as the No. 1 receiver for the Buckeyes after catching a pass in every game he played during the 2004 season; he finished the season with 769 yards and seven touchdowns on 55 catches. Ginn was known for his explosive plays and versatility. For instance in the 2004 game against the Michigan State Spartans, he scored three touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving, and one punt return).

For either team to play in the national title game, that team had to end up ranked No. 1 or No. 2 at the end of the regular season. Since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998, 9 of the 14 teams were unbeaten going into the championship game.cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687967 | title=Ohio State, Texas put BCS hopes on line - Nos. 1-, 2-ranked teams can't afford loss in big matchup Saturday | author=Associated Press | publisher=MSNBC | date=September 8, 2006 | accessdate=2006-09-08] The only time the national champion has not been unbeaten during that stretch was in 2003 when LSU and USC claimed a share of the title as each finished with one loss.cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687408/ | title=Ohio St-Texas Preview | publisher=MSNBC | author=Einhorn, Justin | date=September 7, 2006 | accessdate=2006-09-07] Ohio State tackle Kirk Barton would later say "There’ll probably be two undefeated teams at the end of the road and if you’re not one of them you’re probably not going to be playing for the championship. So you’ve got to treat every game like it’s the Super Bowl. You only get one opportunity."cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14687967 | title=Ohio State, Texas put BCS hopes on line - Nos. 1-, 2-ranked teams can't afford loss in big matchup Saturday | author=Associated Press | publisher=MSNBC | date=September 8, 2006 | accessdate=2006-09-08]

Prior to the game

After they each won their home opener, Texas and Ohio State came into the game still ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. [cite news | url=http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/recap?gid=200509100033 | title=(2) Texas 25, (4) Ohio St. 22 | author=Russo, Ralph | date=September 11, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-12] According to observers such as "USA Today", the match-up between the Longhorns and the OSU Buckeyes was one of the most-anticipated games of the 2005 season.cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2005-09-09-whiteside_x.htm | title=Wuerffel says Katrina will not destroy ministry | publisher=USA Today | author=Whiteside, Kelly | date=September 9, 2005 | accessdate=2007-01-17] cite news | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090505aaa.html | title=Buckeyes Welcome Texas to Ohio Stadium | publisher=Ohio State University | date=September 5, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-13] cite news | url=http://boifromtroy.com/?p=4427 | title= A Gay Viewers Guide to the 2005 College Football Season | publisher=The Boi from Troy | date=August 21, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-14] cite news | url=http://www.vmag.net/091505ut.html | title=Ground-breaking Online Video Magazine Melds Interactivity of the Web with Power of Television | publisher=New Game Communications | date=September 15, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-14] Teams have become increasingly conservative in scheduling non-conference opponents of a high caliber, so a meeting of the number 2 and number 4 teams in the country is unusual this early in the season.cite news | url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/09/early_power_gam.html | title=Early power games key to college polls | author=Neuharth, Al | publisher=USA Today | accessdate=2006-12-14] Due to the high level of anticipation, ESPN chose the game for the location of its weekly College GameDay broadcast.

This meeting was also the first-ever match-up between the two storied programs; the two teams had combined to play 1594 games before meeting.cite web | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/091105aai.html | title=Postgame Notes From No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | work=Ohio State Football | accessdate=2006-07-30] cite web | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/APswaggerintoohio.pdf | format = PDF | title=Swagger into Ohio | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2006-07-30] cite news | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=1485&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2 | title=No. 2 Texas 25, No. 4 Ohio State 22 | author=Russo, Ralph | publisher=Associated Press | accessdate=2006-12-14] For Texas, it also meant playing a second Big Ten Conference powerhouse soon after winning the first-ever matchup between Texas and the University of Michigan at the end of the 2004 season.

The Buckeyes entered the game with an all-time record of 766-298-53 including an Ohio Stadium mark of 356-101-20. During the 115 years the school has played football, the Buckeyes had won seven national championships, the most recent being in 2002 when they finished with a perfect 14-0 record. Texas came into the game with an all-time record of 788-310-33 since 1893. The Longhorns victory total and victory percentage are both the third highest in the NCAA annals. The Longhorns had won three national championships, most recently in 1970. OSU ranked sixth all-time winning percentage and was tied with Alabama for fifth in terms of total victories.cite news | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/2005_OhioSt_notes.pdf | title=Game Notes | format=PDF | publisher=MackBrownTexasFootball | accessdate=2007-04-13]

Before the game, it had been uncertain who would play at quarterback for Ohio State. [cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/columnist/weekendforecast/2005-09-07-column_x.htm | title=Columbus and Ann Arbor are the hot spots this weekend | author=Smith, Erick | publisher=USA Today | date=September 7, 2005 | accessdate=2007-03-13] Justin Zwick had started for OSU in the 2004 season but three straight loses and an injury to Zwick gave Troy Smith a chance to start. However, an NCAA investigation found Smith took $500 from an Ohio State booster in violation of NCAA rules. Although he could have been dismissed from the team, ultimately he had to repay the money and was forced to sit out OSU's 2004 bowl game and the first game of 2005. [cite news | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16128299/ | title=Smith strikes pose with record Heisman win - Ohio St. QB gets highest percentage of first-place votes; McFadden second | publisher=Associated Press | date=December 10, 2006 | accessdate=2007-03-13] Ohio State coach Jim Tressel announced ahead of time that both Zwick and Smith would play in the game. [cite news | url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2005-09-09-weekend-preview_x.htm | title=Texas vs. Ohio State highlights second weekend | author=Timanus, Eddie | publisher=USA Today | date=September 9, 2005 | accessdate=2007-03-13] The game was played at Ohio State University in Ohio Stadium, also known as "The Horseshoe"cite web | title=Ohio Stadium | work=Ohio State Traditions | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/trads/ohiostadium.html | accessdate=2006-07-30] or "the Shoe".cite news | url=http://www.buckeyextra.com/?story=132929 | title=Transcript of Mack Brown's postgame news conference | publisher=BuckeyeXtra.com | date=September 11, 2005 | accessdate=2007-01-17] This stadium is notoriously tough for visiting teams, as its large capacity and structural design create a tremendous amount of crowd noise that can make it difficult for the visiting team to call audibles at the line of scrimmage.cite news | title = Too Much Noise| publisher = New York Times| page = B27| date = 1985-11-07| accessdate = 2006-07-12] The Buckeyes had an active 36 consecutive game non-conference winning streak in the statium. The game's attendance was 105,565, which set the all-time attendance record for Ohio Stadium.cite web | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/091105aai.html | title=Postgame Notes From No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | work=Ohio State Football | accessdate=2006-07-30] The game was televised nationally on ABC and drew 9.9 million viewers.cite news | url=http://www.imdb.com/news/sb/2005-09-14 | title=Movie / TV News | publisher=IMDB | date=September 15, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-14]

First quarter

The Buckeyes got the ball to start the game and Justin Zwick was the starting quarterback. He led his team to advance only five yards in three plays so they punted from their own 46 yard-line to the UT eleven yard-line. Less than five minutes into the game, Texas scored first on a field goal by David Pino.cite news | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/000_stats/05/ut2.htm#GAME.QCK | title=Texas vs Ohio State (Sep 10, 2005) | publisher=MackBrownTexasFootball | date=September 10, 2006 | accessdate=2007-03-12] The 42 yard kick was a career-long for Pino and also the first of what would be a career-high (single game) three field goals. Ohio State strung together 11 plays for 64 yards but had to punt. With 1:37 to play in the first quarter, Texas extended this lead to 10-0 with a five yard touchdown pass from Vince Young to Billy Pittman. Troy Smith came into the game for the first time and was still leading the Buckeyes at the end of the first quarter.

econd quarter

Ohio State controlled most of the second quarter. Their first score was a 45 yd field goal by Josh Huston followed by a 36 yard touchdown pass from Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes to tie the score at 10–10. They took the lead with two more field goals from Josh Huston; the first was from 36 yards and the second was from 25 yards. Following the kick-off, Texas took possession of the ball at their own 31 yard-line with only 31 seconds remaining in the first half. Young began the drive by throwing a 36 yard pass to the Ohio State 18 yard-line and then the receiver ran out of bounds to stop the clock with 20 seconds to play. On the next play, Young rushed for six yards and was tackled in-bounds, causing Texas to use a time out with 12 seconds on the clock. On second down, OSU's A.J. Hawk sacked Vince Young for a loss of 8 yards, forcing Texas to take another time-out with seven seconds remaining. Texas put in David Pino to complete a 37 yard kick with two seconds left, making the score 16–13 in favor of Ohio State. Texas kicked off and time expired on the ensuing 18 yard return by Erick Jackson.

Half time

Just as it was the first ever meeting of the two football teams, it was also the first time that the The Ohio State University Marching Band (nicknamed "The Best Damn Band in the Land" or TBDBITL) and the The University of Texas Longhorn Band (nicknamed "The Showband of the Southwest") had ever performed back-to-back half-time performances. The OSU band performed "Script Ohio" and the UT band performed "Script Texas". Ohio State also held a ceremony to honor one of their long-time coaches, Woody Hayes, by placing his name on the east side of the stadium.cite news | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090505aad.html | title=Ohio State to Honor Woody Hayes at Halftime of Texas Game | publisher=Ohio State University | date=September 5, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-13]

Third quarter

Texas got the ball at their 20 to start the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, Jamaal Charles rushed for three yards. On second down, Vince Young's pass was intercepted by Nate Salley at the UT 37. Two rushes by Antonio Pittman resulted in a first down at the UT 30. After a short gain on first down and an incomplete pass on second down, Troy Smith recovered his own fumble on third down to set up a successful 44 yard field goal by Huston. Texas used six plays, including a 63 yard pass to Billy Pittman before being stopped at the Ohio State eight yard-line. David Pino made the 25 yard field goal. On the ensuing kick-off by Richmond McGee, OSU's Ted Ginn took the ball at the one yard-line and ran it out to almost mid-field. The drive ended with a successful 26 yard field goal by Huston. The following three possessions (two for Texas and one for Ohio State) resulted in punts. The third quarter expired with Ohio State leading 22 to 16 and with control of the ball near mid-field.

Fourth quarter

Ohio State was unable to score and gave the ball back to Texas with 13:24 left in the game. Texas was forced to punt. On the Buckeyes' next possession they drove from their own 30 to the Texas 33 before settling for a sixth field goal attempt by Huston, this one from 50 yards out. Huston missed wide left to leave Ohio State still ahead by six points. Texas took over at their own 33 with 5:07 left in the game.

On an incomplete pass to Brian Carter, Texas benefited from a pass interference penalty which moved the ball to the UT 48. Vince Young rushed for four yards and then threw an incomplete pass to Ramonce Taylor before taking a timeout with 4:42 left to play. Young's next pass was complete for a first down to Jamaal Charles who went out-of-bounds to completely stop the clock. Vince Young rushed for one yard to the OSU 38 and then took a time-out at 3:53. Young threw to Jamaal Charles who gained eight yards and went out-of-bounds. An offsides penalty by Ohio State and one yard rush by Jamaal Charles gave Texas second and nine from the Ohio State 24. On second and nine with 2:37 remaining to play, Vince Young passed a touchdown pass over the head of a defender to find Limas Sweed in the end-zone. It was the 23rd touchdown pass by Young, putting him seventh in the all-time school record book. David Pino's kick gave Texas the lead at 23-22.

Texas kicked off to the Ohio State five yard-line and Holmes returned it 26 yards to the Buckeye 31. Justin Zwick was in at quarterback for Ohio State. On first-and-ten and needing a score to win the game, Zwick rushed around the left side to the 35 but a fumble was forced by UT's Drew Kelson. UT's Brian Robison recovered the fumble at the 30 and advanced it nine yards before being tackled by Vernon Gholston at the Ohio State 21.

With 2:19 to play and nursing a one-point lead, Texas was in position to win if they could run out the clock. They began with a 12 yard rush on the left side by Jamaal Charles for a first down. Charles then carried again up the middle for a two yard gain to the Ohio State 7. OSU called a time-out to stop the clock at 1:36. On second-and-goal, Vince Young kept the ball and gained three yards before being tackled by A.J. Hawk. The Buckeyes again called time-out with 1:23 left. Young carried again for three yards before being brought down by B. Carpenter and A.J. Hawk just one yard short of the goal-line. This time, Texas took a time-out with 29 seconds left to play. Following the time-out, Young handed off to Henry Melton who was stopped for no gain. Ohio State took over on downs.

Troy Smith came back in as quarter-back for Ohio State. On first down, Smith was sacked for a loss of one yard by Aaron Harris. This gave Texas a safety worth two-points, extending their lead to 25-22. Josh Huston attempted an on-side kick but Texas was able to recover on the Ohio State 32. Texas took a knee to end the game.

Analysis

Ohio State recovered three turnovers in Texas territory, but each time the Texas defense held OSU to just a field goal. The five field goals by Josh Huston tied an Ohio State school and stadium record.cite news | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/091105aac.html | title=Ohio State Defeated by Texas, 25-22 - Huston ties Buckeye and Ohio Stadium record with five made field goals | publisher=Ohio State University | date=September 11, 2006 | accessdate=2007-03-12] He now shares the record with Mike Nugent (at North Carolina State, September 19, 2004) and Bob Atha (vs. Indiana, October 24, 1981 in Ohio Stadium). Wide receiver Ted Ginn, usually an important contributor for the Buckeyes, was held to only nine yards receiving but he also contributed 82 yards on three kick-off returns (the longest was for 46 yards) and eight yards on one punt return.

Texas win at 25-22cite web | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/000_stats/05/ut2.htm | title=Texas vs Ohio State (Sep 10, 2005) | work=MackBrownTexasFootball | accessdate=2006-07-30] was the lowest scoring game Texas would experience all season, both in terms of points scored by Texas and in terms of total points. UT's victory against fourth-ranked OSU marked the highest ranked non-conference opponent the Longhorns had ever beaten at the opponent's home stadium.cite news | url = http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=1486&change_well_id=2 | title = Ohio State Game Notes | publisher = MackBrownTexasFootball | date =September 11, 2005 | accessdate = 2006-12-14] The previous high came in 1983 when third-ranked Texas pulled off a 20-7 upset at fifth-ranked Auburn. Texas became the first non-conference opponent to beat The Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium since 1990, putting an end to a 36-game home victory string over non-conference opponents. The Longhorns also were the first team to ever beat the Buckeyes in a night game at The Horseshoe. It was UT's 10th straight victory in a night game road contest. ESPN and "College Football Rivals", were among the observers who named the game one of the best football games of the season.cite news | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview05/news/story?id=2145079&CMP=OTC-DT9705204233 | title=The best of the best for the '05 season | publisher=ESPN | accessdate=2006-12-12] cite news | url=http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1144&CID=577469 | title=Top revenge games to watch for in 2006 | author=McClellan, Bob | date=August 30, 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-12] cite news | url=http://www.collegefootballblog.org/conferences/big_ten/ | title=Week 2: Sunday Morning Notes | author=Atkinson, Jimmy | publisher=College Football Online | date=September 11, 2005 | accessdate=2007-04-14]

After the game

Texas eventually finished the season of 2005-2006 as the only undefeated team, winning both the Big 12 Conference championshipcite news | title=Texas Overpowers Colorado To Win Big 12 football Championship | url=http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/120305aaa.html | publisher=Big 12 Conference | date=December 3, 2005 | accessdate=2006-12-12] and the National Championship.cite news | url=http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/010506aaa.html | title=Texas Wins National Championship, Beats USC 41-38 - Vince Young scrambles for an 8-yard touchdown on fourth down with 19 seconds left to take lead. | publisher=Big 12 Conference | date=January 4, 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-12]

The Longhorns' penultimate victory of the season, in the Big 12 Championship Game, featured the biggest margin of victory in the history of that contest. Their ultimate victory in the 2006 Rose Bowl against the University of Southern California Trojans for the national championship, as well as their overall season, have both been cited as standing among the greatest performances in college football history by publications such as "College Football News",cite news | url=http://cfn.scout.com/2/564658.html | title=Tuesday Question - Ten Greatest Bowl Games | date=September 5, 2006 | publisher=College Football News | author=Cirminiello, Richard and Harris, John | accessdate=2006-12-13] cite news | author=Fiutak, Pete | url=http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2006/TQ/Rose_Best.htm | title=Was the 2006 Rose Bowl the best college football game ever? | publisher=College Football News | date=January 10, 2006 | accessdate=2006-10-20] cite news | author=Fiutak, Pete | url=http://www.collegefootballnews.com/Almanac/CFN_Formula/CFN_FormulaAllTime.htm |title=Formula and Calculations for All-Time Greatest Football Teams | publisher=College Football News | accessdate=2006-06-27] the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution",cite news | url=http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2006/01/06/rose_bowl_a_gra.html | title=BCS enjoys 'grand cresendo' | publisher=Atlanta Journal-Constitution | author=Furman Bisher | date=2006-01-06 | accessdate=2006-12-12] "Scout.com",cite news | url=http://louisianastate.scout.com/2/596414.html | title=Is the bloom off the Rose? | author=Defresne, Chris | publisher=Scouts.com | date=December 1, 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-13] and "Sports Illustrated".cite news | author=Murphy, Austin | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/preview/siexclusive/2006/pr/subs/siexclusive/01/05/cf.bcs0109/ | title=The Night is Young's | publisher=Sports Illustrated | date=January 5, 2006 | accessdate=2006-07-30] The Longhorns and the Trojans were together awarded the 2006 ESPY Award by ESPN for the "Best Game" in any sport.Fisher, Gerren LaQuintCite news | url=http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2006/07/14/Sports/Texas.Snags.Espy.Trifecta-2131713.shtml?norewrite200607252146&sourcedomain=www.dailytexanonline.com | title=Texas snags ESPY trifecta - 2006 Rose Bowl voted Best Game of the year, Vince gets Best Championship Performance | publisher=The Daily Texan | date=July 14, 2006 | accessdate=2006-07-25 | Author=Fisher, Gerren LaQuint] The Longhorns finished the season as the only unbeaten team, with 13 wins and zero losses overall.cite web | url = http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/06_records_3_big12.pdf | format = PDF | title=All Time Big-12 Standings | work = MackBrownTexasFootball.com | accessdate=2006-06-26]

The season gave Texas its second Big 12 football championshipcite web | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/06_records_3_big12.pdf | format = PDF | title=All Time Big-12 Standings | work=MackBrownTexasFootball.com | accessdate=2006-06-26] (27 conference championships total, including 25 in the Southwest Conference),cite web | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/doc_lib/06_records_3_swc.pdf | format = PDF | title=All Time SWC Standings | work=MackBrownTexasFootball.com | accessdate=2006-06-26] and fourth consensus national championship in football.cite web | url=http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html | title=Past Division I-A Football National Champions | work=NCAA.org | accessdate=2006-06-27] It was the ninth perfect season in the history of Longhorn football.cite news | url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=36&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=1349&change_well_id=2 | title=University of Texas - all time records | publisher=MackBrownTexasFootball.com | accessdate=2006-12-05]

UT set numerous school and NCAA records, including most points scored in a season (652). After the season ended, six Longhorns from this championship team were selected by professional football teams in the 2006 NFL Draft.cite web | url=http://nfl.com/draft/drafttracker/school/TX | title=Draft Tracker - Texas | work=NFL.com - Official website of the NFL | date=April 30, 2006 | accessdate=2006-07-27]

Ohio State finished the season with an appearance in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl where they defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by 34-20. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=260020194 ESPN article on 2006 Fiesta Bowl] ] [ [http://www.fiestabowl.org/pdf5/45266.pdf?ATCLID=523263&SPSID=46030&SPID=4135&DB_OEM_ID=10200 Official Stats - 2005 Fiesta Bowl] ] They finished the season ranked No. 4 in the nation. [cite web | title=College Football Rankings | publisher=ESPN | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/rankingsindex?pollId=null&weekNumber=16&seasonYear=2005 | accessdate=2006-07-20 | format=HTML | language=English ]

Notes and references

*cite web |url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=1959&change_well_id=2 | title=Official website of UT football - 2005 National Champions | accessdate=2006-07-30
*cite web | title=2005 Bowl Championship Series Standings | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/files/bcs-2005.pdf | format = PDF | publisher = The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc | accessdate=2006-07-30
*cite web | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/ | title=Official website of OSU athletics | accessdate=2007-04-13
*cite web | title=2005 Bowl Championship Series Standings | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/files/bcs-2005.pdf | publisher=The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc | accessdate=2006-07-20 | language=English | format=PDF
*cite web | title=Client News | publisher=Harris Interactive | url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/bcspoll.asp | accessdate=2006-07-20 | format=HTML | language=English
*cite web | title=Final Dec. 4th Rankings from the Harris Interactive College Football Poll | publisher=Harris Interactive | url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/bcsnews/BCS_Dec_4_2005.pdf | accessdate=2006-07-20 | format=PDF | language=English
*cite web | url=http://preseason.stassen.com/consensus/2005.html | title=2005 Preseason Consensus | publisher=Stassen.com | language=English | format=HTML | accessdate=2006-07-21
*cite web | url=http://www.bcsfootball.org/index2.cfm?page=standings | title=BCS Standings | publisher=BCSfootball.org | language=English | format=HTML | accessdate=2006-07-31

Further reading

*"Longhorns' Perfect Drive: Texas' 2005 National Championship Season" Sports Publishing (January 15, 2006) ISBN 1-596701-16-1
*"Sports Illustrated CFB Texas" # Time Inc. Magazine Company (January 9, 2005) ISBN 1-580607-62-4
*"Sports Illustrated College Football Championship Commemorative Issue 2006" The Time Inc. Magazine Company (January 6, 2006) ISBN 1-580607-58-6
*"Texas Pride: Longhorn Glory Shines Through an Unforgettable Championship Season" Triumph Books (January 31, 2006) ISBN 1-572438-76-2

External links

*cite web |url=http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=1959&change_well_id=2 | title=Official website of UT football - 2005 National Champions | accessdate=2006-12-12
*cite web | url=http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/ | title=Official website of OSU athletics | accessdate=2007-04-13
*cite web | url=http://www.utexasclan.com/hornfans/TheHornsSound.wmv | title=The Horns Sound: 2005 Texas Longhorns Football Season Highlights Video | author="Thelonious Monkey" | format=WMV | accessdate=2006-12-12
*cite web | url=http://www.utexasclan.com/photos/videos.php | title=2005 Texas Longhorns Football Highlights | publisher=UTexasClan | accessdate=2006-12-12
*cite web | url=http://www.hornhub.com | title=Texas Longhorns Football Links | publisher=HornHub.com | accessdate=2006-12-12
*cite web | url=http://www.big12sports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010506aaa.html | title=Photo Gallery | publisher=Big 12 Conference | accessdate=2006-12-12