Texas Two-Steps All Over Colorado

Texas was all business Saturday and Colorado was all Boulder-dash in a Big 12 Conference championship game that set up one half of this year’s national title game in the Jan. 4 Rose Bowl.

No. 2-ranked Texas rebounded from a lackluster effort the previous week against Texas A&M; with a 70-3 victory over Colorado at Reliant Stadium.

Texas Coach Mack Brown was being kind when he said, “It was a heck of a game for about a quarter and a half.”

Texas is 12-0 for the first time, has won 19 consecutive games and will return to the Rose Bowl a year after it defeated Michigan.

This time, though, Texas will come to Pasadena to play No. 1 USC with a chance to win its first outright national title since the Darrell Royal-led Longhorns won in 1969. The Longhorns earned a split share in 1970.

Saturday was a day when roses were awarded and patience was rewarded.

In 22 years as one of the college game’s most successful coaches, Brown had never led a team to a conference championship -- until Saturday.

He had big years at North Carolina in the 1990s but came up short behind Florida State, and in eight years at Texas has been foiled by the likes of Nebraska, Texas A&M; and Oklahoma.

Brown improved his record to 82-19 at Texas and 168-93-1 overall.

Saturday’s game was over before lunch in some time zones, as Texas scored on six of its seven first-half possessions.

With 9 minutes 54 seconds left in the third quarter, Matt Nordgren replaced starting quarterback Vince Young with Texas leading, 63-3.

Young completed 14 of 17 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 57 yards and a score not far from the house where he grew up.

“This is a blessing just coming to play in front of family,” he said.

It was a strange setup for a Rose Bowl send-off, and not much more than a contact scrimmage for Texas.

Colorado (7-5) was coming off a 30-3 home loss to Nebraska on Nov. 25 but backed into the Big 12 North Division title a day later when Kansas upset Iowa State.

Colorado fans gobbled up Big 12 tickets by, um, the dozens, turning Reliant Stadium into a home game for Texas and its 34 Houston-reared players.

There was talk about the strange history of the Big 12 title game, and BCS-altering upsets in 1998, 2001 and 2003.

No such luck Saturday.

Colorado looked plucky in driving into Texas territory on its opening possession, but then tailback Hugh Charles fumbled the ball to the Longhorns.

Seven plays later, Henry Melton scored on a one-yard run, the first of 10 Texas touchdowns.

Texas made it 14-0 on a three-yard pass from Young to Jamaal Charles before Colorado interrupted the flow with a field goal. Young ran two yards for a second-quarter score to make it 21-3 and Texas took one play to turn an interception into a 31-yard scoring pass from Young to Limas Sweed.

It was a 42-3 game at the half, and Colorado must have wished it was half way home.

Young bounced back from an off-game against Texas A&M; and made a final statement in his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy, which most experts had already ceded to USC tailback Reggie Bush.

“I don’t care about the Heisman right now,” Young said. “I’m excited we won the Big 12.”