The stage is set. The only duel that the country clamored to see is already a reality. The Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans will meet on Jan. 4 at the Rose Bowl to determine which program is the best the country has to offer for the 2005-06 season.

He couldn’t help but be impressed with how these two shows performed in their final test of the season.

Texas wasted no time going down the throats of the Colorado Buffaloes as they took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and increased it to a more than comfortable 42-3 count at the half. Quarterback Vince Young bounced back from the horrible performance of him vs. Texas A&M and the Longhorn running game simply dominated racking up 268 total scrimmage yards. There was nothing stopping these guys from returning to Pasadena, and now they have a chance to ban HC Pete Carroll and the Trojans from pulling off the treble.

Speaking of Trojans, good heavens! She couldn’t believe what she was seeing as her game vs. UCLA progressed on Saturday afternoon. There was so much hype for this game in the west that it should have been a foregone conclusion that the game would end up being a stink. Most of the time, when something in the media, news, or sports is hyped ad nauseam, the topic usually fades away and becomes a huge disappointment. That was exactly the case in this circumstance. I thought UCLA plus the points was a solid, stone-cold lock. Good thing I gave all my customers the ‘Over’, and we still had to wait until the final minutes to collect that ticket. USC just dominated. The Bruins’ explosive offense looked like a pee-wee team taking on the ’85 Bears. And I remain a firm believer that the “D” Trojans are still a year away from becoming dominant once again.

QB Matt Leinart had a fantastic day, but it was all of Reggie Bush who once again stole the show. This guy is simply the most electrifying college athlete I’ve seen since Michael Vick woke up in a Hokies jersey just five years ago. He rushed for more than 200 yards in the first half of the game, sitting out most of the second to make way for White and RB Kirtman to clean up. This performance undoubtedly secured his ownership of the Heisman in my mind, and it would be highly disappointing if anyone other than him was on the podium giving his acceptance speech in a few weeks.

This is by far one of the most anticipated BCS championship games since the system was introduced. There will be tons of talent roaming both sides, and one can only hope that this year’s game in Pasadena will be as entertaining as it was a year ago when Texas defeated Michigan in a high-scoring thriller. That said, we’ve already seen what USC can do to the ad monster. Was the Trojans’ regular season a bunch of exhibition games leading up to the ONLY game they cared about? Will HC Mack Brown get through a season without suffocating? Will history repeat itself, or will one of the greatest dynasties in all of college football pick up the hardware for the third straight season? I don’t have the answer to any of those questions right now, but make sure you get my opinion on this phone before you put down your hard-earned money. I’m known for picking the big upsets in the late National Championship games (Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State). Tune in on Wednesday the fourth to see what happens!