Young Is ‘Horn of Plenty

The bowl championship series could shunt aside the Pacific 10 Conference for its Rose Bowl matchup. The game could be left outside the frame of the national title picture.

But problematic computers and predisposed poll voters were immaterial at the precise moment a partially blocked field goal traveled low and slow for 37 yards before crawling over the crossbar to give Texas a thrilling 38-37 victory over Michigan on the final play of the game Saturday.

The kick by former walk-on Dusty Mangum triggered a wild celebration from the huge contingent of Longhorn fans among the 93,468. Under dark but dry skies, the game gathered steam until big plays came in rapid succession from Texas quarterback Vince Young and Michigan receivers Braylon Edwards and Steve Breaston.

The team with the last possession, it seemed, would win. And that turned out to be No. 6 Texas (11-1), which ate up the last three minutes mostly on keepers by the elusive Young, who rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns.

Mangum had done nothing all day but boot five extra-point attempts, but there he was, all 175 pounds of him, a white shoe on his plant foot and a black shoe on his kicking foot, trotting out in a spotless uniform to join the grass-stained warriors with two seconds on the clock.

No. 13 Michigan (9-3) twice called timeout in an effort to fluster him. For Texas Coach Mack Brown, it was time to start earning the $25-million, 10-year contract he agreed to earlier in the week. He put his arm around his kicker and said, “Dusty, you are the luckiest human being in the world. You are going to make the kick to win the Rose Bowl.”

Moments later, Mangum was being carried from the field on the shoulders of teammates, confetti falling on his head, the Texas fight song ringing in his ears.

“It was crazy,” he said.

So were the previous 59 minutes and 58 seconds. Amazingly, the cleanest uniform besides Mangum’s belonged to Young, a sophomore who took 74 snaps and either passed or ran the ball on 49 of them. He accumulated 372 total yards, passing for 180 and a touchdown, and when he did hit the turf, it was to stretch out his 6-foot-5 frame for more yardage.

Young’s 23-yard scoring run around left end with 4:56 to play put Texas ahead, 35-34. His 10-yard run, a weaving scramble worthy of a Michael Vick highlight reel, pulled Texas to within 31-28 with 9:51 to play and ended a 17-point Michigan run. His 60-yard bolt from the shotgun on the first possession of the third quarter set the tone for the wild second half and his 20-yard run opened the scoring late in the first quarter.

“It was obvious he’s difficult to tackle,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. “But too many times we had him, should have gotten him to the ground and were unable to.”

Texas had its own defensive woes. Wolverine quarterback Chad Henne consistently found Edwards and Breaston with passes and tailback Mike Hart, like Henne a freshman, rushed for 83 yards in 21 carries.

Edwards, an All-American playing his last collegiate game, set Big Ten Conference career records for receptions and touchdowns with a 10-catch, three-touchdown performance. The touchdowns were also a Rose Bowl record. His biggest play was a 39-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, and he had scores in the last minute of the first half and midway through the third quarter to give Michigan its first lead, 28-21.

Breaston set a Rose Bowl record with 315 all-purpose yards, breaking a mark set by O.J. Simpson in 1969. He racked up 221 on six kick returns -- including three of more than 40 yards --and scored on a 50-yard reception in the third quarter, tying the score at 21-21.

About the only marquee offensive player who did not achieve a personal milestone was Texas senior running back Cedric Benson, who was held to 70 yards in 23 carries. His career rushing total is 5,540, ranking sixth all-time. Had he gained another 59 yards he would have moved up to fourth.

His unselfish reaction, though, was consistent with the way he had brushed off the suggestion that he was snubbed by Heisman Trophy voters when he was not chosen as one of five finalists.

“They had the box piled up, which allowed us to do some things in play action,” he said. “All I cared about was winning.”

The focus on Benson opened running lanes for Young and left open tight ends Bo Scaife and David Thomas, who combined for nine catches.

“That was as good a college football game as you’ll see,” Brown said. “Vince Young took over the ballgame.”

Young, a sophomore, will be back to lead the Longhorns and try to overcome the hurdle of beating Oklahoma, which handed Texas its only loss. As for this season’s final rankings, the Longhorns hoped that the right combination of outcomes in other bowl games could vault them as high as No. 2.

More likely, however, they will check in at No. 5 or remain No. 6. The rap on Brown is that he can’t win the big one and, truth be told, this wasn’t truly big, even though it was his team’s first BCS game, first Rose Bowl and laid to rest any controversy that California should have been here instead of Texas.

Just don’t tell that to Mangum, who despite being Texas’ all-time leading scorer among kickers was awarded a scholarship this year for the first time.

It didn’t matter that his winning kick was grazed by Wolverine Ernest Shazor. It didn’t matter that the lack of trajectory caused Benson to say, “My heart stopped and didn’t restart until I knew it was good.”

Mangum wore a grin so bright it cut right through the atypical gray Pasadena skies.

“I watched our team play so hard the entire game and I just hoped I had a chance to do this,” he said. “A lot of people around the country downplayed this game, but it meant everything to us.”

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Keys to the Game

Lonnie White’s keys to the game, and how the Longhorns and Wolverines measured up:

1. Stop the run: Michigan did an excellent job of stopping running back Cedric Benson, but the Wolverines could not control quarterback Vince Young, who led Texas with 192 yards rushing.

2. Avoid turnovers: Texas turned the ball over twice, while Michigan did not have any turnovers. Both miscues by the Longhorns, a fumbled punt by Ramonce Taylor in the second quarter and an interception by Young in the third, led to 10 points for the Wolverines.

3. Tackle, tackle, tackle: Despite 75 combined points, both teams did a decent job of tackling except when Young had the ball for Texas and Steve Breaston for Michigan.

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*--* On Line Dusty Mangum’s statistics for the season after the junior’s 37-yard field goal to win the Rose Bowl for Texas: Range Made Attempts 20-29 yards 3 3 30-39 yards 4 6 40-49 yards 2 4 50-plus yards 2 2 TOTAL 11 15 Extra points 50 51

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FIRST QUARTER IN REVIEW

RUSHING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...6 for 44 yards, 1 TD

Michigan

M. Hart...5 for 19 yards

RECEIVING LEADERS

Texas

B. Scaife...2 for 31 yards

Michigan

B. Edwards...3 for 31 yards

PASSING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...3 for 7, 41 yards

Michigan

C. Henne...3 for 9, 31 yards

* Big play: On the quarter’s only scoring play, Texas quarterback Vince Young didn’t hesitate long after receiving the snap in the shotgun formation, scampering 20 yards on what was called a quarterback draw, even though he was on his way to the end zone before any receiver would have had time to get open.

* Key stat: The teams combined for five penalties, including three by Michigan that blunted a promising opening drive.

* Also: Steve Breaston had kickoff returns of 44 and 37 yards. But Michigan failed to capitalize on the outstanding field position.

* Analysis: Things you don’t normally see in Pasadena on Jan. 1: Overcast sky, Texas in the Rose Bowl, farm animal on the sidelines. Not as unusual: Michigan trailing. The Wolverines have given up the opening score in three of their last four Rose Bowl appearances.

SECOND QUARTER IN REVIEW

RUSHING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...3 for 13 yards

Michigan

M. Hart...5 for 13 yards

RECEIVING LEADERS

Texas

D. Thomas...1 for 11 yards, TD

Michigan

B. Edwards...2 for 47 yards, 2 TD

PASSING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...5 for 5, 44 yards

Michigan

C. Henne...5 for 8, 91 yards, 2 TD

* Big play: Take your pick: Braylon Edwards on an acrobatic 39-yard touchdown catch along the left sideline to tie the score at 7-7, or his catch at the back of the end zone to tie the score at 14-14 with 26 seconds left in the half.

* Key stat: Edwards became the all-time Michigan and Big Ten leader for touchdown receptions with 38 (he added his 39th later). He also became the all-time Rose Bowl reception leader with 15.

* Also: Either Young or tailback Cedric Benson handled the ball on 34 of Texas’ 36 plays. Ramonce Taylor and Will Mathews each carried for one yard on the other two plays of the half.

* Analysis: Texas was in position to take control of the game after a 12-play scoring drive of more than eight minutes, followed by a three-and-out possession by Michigan. But Taylor fumbled the ensuing punt and Michigan went 34 yards in eight plays to tie the score just before halftime.

THIRD QUARTER IN REVIEW

RUSHING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...4 for 71 yards, TD

Michigan

M. Hart...4 for 25 yards

RECEIVING LEADERS

Texas

B. Scaife...1 for 11 yards

Michigan

B. Edwards...3 for 12 yards, TD

PASSING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...2 for 8, 18 yards

Michigan

C. Henne...7 for 10, 95 yards, 2 TD

* Big play: Breaston, a junior receiver playing in the shadows of heralded Michigan teammate Edwards, turned a short catch into a 50-yard touchdown play, taking the sting out of Young’s 60-yard touchdown run for Texas seconds earlier. Breaston also had a 43-yard kickoff return.

* Key stat: Michigan’s Chad Henne tied a Rose Bowl record with four touchdown passes, including two in an eight-minute span as Michigan caught and passed Texas as part of 17 unanswered points in the quarter.

* Also: Young and Benson handled the ball on each of the Longhorns’ 17 plays.

* Analysis: Texas fashioned its 10-1 record largely on the strength of its performance in the third quarter, outscoring opponents, 105-3, this season. But with Michigan striking back quickly after Young’s long touchdown run, the Longhorns turned to their passing game -- with little success.

FOURTH QUARTER IN REVIEW

RUSHING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...8 for 63 yards, 2 TD

Michigan

M. Hart...7 for 34 yards

RECEIVING LEADERS

Texas

D. Thomas...2 for 33 yards

Michigan

B. Edwards...2 for 19 yards

PASSING LEADERS

Texas

V. Young...6 for 8, 87 yards,

Michigan

C. Henne...3 for 7, 30 yards

* Big play: Young’s 10-yard touchdown run with 9:51 left when he escaped a tackle behind the line of scrimmage? His 23-yard scramble with 4:36 left? Or the final play, when Texas kicker Dusty Mangum’s 37-yard attempt, after two Michigan timeouts, is tipped at the line and still goes through for the winning margin? Yes, that one.

* Key stat: Young, whose four rushing touchdowns tied the modern Rose Bowl record, was involved in 49 of Texas’ 74 plays from scrimmage. Benson added 23 carries. Only six other Longhorns handled the ball on offensive plays in the game.

* Also: Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr is 5-5 in bowl games. Mack Brown is 4-3 in bowls at Texas.

* Analysis: The lack of a Pacific 10 component riled traditionalists, but with a turnout of 93,468 and four lead changes in the final six minutes, the granddaddy of bowls was mighty grand after all.

-- Dave Morgan