Nothing's prettier than Rose

PASADENA, Calif. -- You want star power? We give you the last two Heisman Trophy winners in Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush and this year's runner-up in Vince Young.

You want offense? One team leads the country in scoring with a 50.9-point average, the other is No. 2 with a 50.0 average.

You want consistency? One team has won 34 straight games and back-to-back national championships. The other has won 19 straight games.

You want tradition? How about 14 national champions, nine Heisman Trophy winners, the team with the third-most victories in NCAA history against the team with the 10th-most wins. Combined, the schools have won 1,531 games.

You want The Game? Take a peek at tonight's Bowl Championship Series title game, the Rose Bowl between No. 1 Southern Cal and No. 2 Texas -- a matchup that has been manna from heaven for embattled BCS officials whose system has been controversial since it began in 1998 with the goal of matching the ''two best teams" in college football.

This year that is the case, without much argument.

''Our football team is thrilled about the opportunity," said USC coach Pete Carroll. ''A great team and a great setting, with all the buildup that goes along with it."

USC, with its 34-game winning streak, finds itself in the strange position of facing a team that has outscored it this season, if barely.

And if there is a mission in the madness of hype that has built around this game all year -- the teams started out No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason polls -- the Trojans are chasing an unprecedented third consecutive national championship.

Texas's sense of history should not be discounted, though. The Longhorns are chasing dreams of their own. Tonight will be their second straight Rose Bowl appearance and their second BCS game. They understand they could be the footnote to USC's run or start their own revival of past glories.

Texas coach Mack Brown has had to build up his team's mental state gradually.

''This game seems like it's been here forever," he said. ''So you kind of have to keep the lid on it. You've got them boiling, you want them to simmer, but you've got to keep the lid on and make sure that you boil at the right time."

For Texas, the most important factor will be its quarterback, Young. The Longhorns have confidence that he will find a way to extend their win streak to 20.

''We're going to be real pumped,"' said Young. ''We're going to not only give just USC but the whole world a good game."

The Trojans say they are ready. More than ready.

''This is what we've been waiting for," said Carroll in yesterday's final pregame news conference. ''We're not tired in any way. I think, as a team, we look fresh, we look healthy.

''They know what's coming. They're going to maximize the last day and a half and get ready for this thing, get ready for the big ballgame."

Leinart, who came back for his senior season after winning the Heisman Trophy last year, has the situation he hoped he would have. It hasn't been easy for the Trojans, who have been challenged all season and had to come from behind on almost a regular basis.

''This year, battling back from Oregon and Arizona State and Notre Dame and finishing a great game like that, never giving up and staying true to our motto that you can't win a game in the first, second, or third quarter," said Leinart. ''It's all about how you finish. That's all we want to do. Fresno State, that game was one of the toughest games of the year, back and forth. We just found a way to finish that game, and that's all we have to do."

But it was Bush, who tonight may be playing in his final collegiate game (he has yet to state whether he will leave for the NFL), who cut to the heart of the matter.

''Time to play a football game," he said.