Vince Young and Reggie Bush, two unbelievable college football players. Both proved themselves over the last three years as rare talents the college football world could only find maybe one in every decade. And yet they both play at the same time. It's unlucky in a way that Reggie Bush's jaw dropping change of speed, body balance, and tackle breaking abilities earned him the Heisman trophy by a landslide. (First place votes: Bush-784 Young-79) That left Vince Young empty handed and disappointed. His disappointment was obvious when the winner was announced and in the press conference afterward. After all, the Heisman is all about hype, and hype is what the media produce. Reggie Bush's hype was the strongest Heisman hype I have seen in the last six years I have followed college football. The true influence and game-changing ability of Vince Young was forced out of the national spotlight.

I truly believe that Vince Young was bigger part of the team than either Bush or Matt Leinart or them combined. He was the spirit of the whole team, both offense and defense. He carried the team from behind multiple times. He was the real MVP of this college football year. This was confirmed by the Maxwell Award which is presented to the college player of the year. The award is absolutely not driven by hype. Vince Young should forever be remembered as the quarterback who dominated and changed the game of college football at the quarterback position. As brilliant as Reggie Bush is, explosive backs like Reggie Bush are not hard to find. His dominance reminds me of Ron Dayne of Wisconsin  who won the Heisman in 1999. Now see how Dayne turned out to be on the pro level. Running backs like him are once in a five year event. Vince Young is the true rare gem.

To refresh memory: Vince Young was leading the Heisman race after leading the Longhorns to a come from behind win at Oklahoma State. The lead was lost for good to Reggie Bush after Bush single handedly won the shootout at Fresno State, in which Bush gained 513 all-purpose yards, of which 294 yards are rushing yards with 2 touchdowns.

It's lucky that Vince Young has been claiming that he is coming back for his senior year. Let's hope so. Mack Brown has had a pretty good reputation on retaining his players to stay for senior year. Last year he successfully retained DT Rodrique Wright and SS Michael Huff. However, quarterback is a different story. Quarterbacks can be picked high as juniors. Matt Leinart chose to stay at USC after his junior year, in which he won the undisputed national champion and the Heisman. His decision was somewhat shocking, considering there is nothing more for him to win. Still, the way he played this year and the performance of his team turned out to be another exceptional season. His now has a chance to make history by winning the national championship three straight years. So Vince actually consulted Matt and his family during the Heisman trophy presentation gathering. Matt told Vince to "follow your heart". Still don't know Vince's decision. It will come soon after the Rose Bowl.

We are lucky for another reason with this match up. Vince Young will play Reggie Bush, plus his pal Matt Leinart, in the Rose Bowl. I don't recall in any national championship game I have seen to have such intriguing players and personalities. Although they won't be all on the field at the same time since all players are on the offensive side. But the success of each individual player and the victory of the team will ultimately determine their college football legacy and their place in college football history, especially their legacy against each other. In the middle of the season I was mildly rooting for USC so that my Horns will have a chance to play USC in the championship game and beat them on our own. Now this has come true. I want a national championship, and winning it by beating one of the best team in history will make it more magical and memorable. 12.29.05