4. 2005 Texas Longhorns (13-0, 8-0 Big 12)
The season: After beating Michigan 38-37 in the 2005 Rose Bowl, the Longhorns started the following season ranked No. 2 in the coaches' poll behind defending AP national champion USC. Texas opened the season with a 60-3 rout of Louisiana-Lafayette, then traveled to Ohio State for the biggest regular-season game of the year. The Longhorns trailed the No. 4 Buckeyes 22-16 in the fourth quarter, but Vince Young threw a touchdown to Limas Sweed to make it 23-22. Then Texas' Aaron Harris sacked Troy Smith for a safety to secure a 25-22 victory. The Ohio State win was Texas' closest call of the season. Texas routed No. 10 Texas Tech 52-17, then blasted Colorado 70-3, the most lopsided score in the history of the Big 12 championship game.
Signature moment: Oklahoma had been Texas' roadblock during the previous five seasons. The Longhorns had lost the Red River Shootout five consecutive times, and the loss prevented them from reaching the Big 12 title game in four of those seasons. When Ramonce Taylor scored the game's first touchdown, it was Texas' first lead in the series since 2002. Jamaal Charles added an 80-yard touchdown run, and the Longhorns built a 24-6 lead at the half before winning the game 45-12.
The championship game: The 2005 Rose Bowl was a back-and-forth slugfest that finally lived up to the enormous expectations of a national championship game. The No. 1 Trojans had won 34 games in a row; the No. 2 Longhorns had won 19 in a row. The Trojans were led by Leinart and Bush, the past two Heisman Trophy winners. USC built a 38-26 lead with 6:42 to play. After Young scored on a 17-yard run to make it 38-33 with about four minutes left, USC coach Pete Carroll gambled and lost. Facing fourth-and-2 at midfield with 2:09 left, Texas' defense stuffed LenDale White, and the Longhorns took over. Young scored on an 8-yard run on fourth down with 19 seconds to go, then ran the two-point conversion to give Texas a 41-38 victory.
The stars: Young finished second in Heisman Trophy voting after running for 1,050 yards and passing for 3,036. He became the first player in NCAA Division I-A to run for 1,000 yards and throw for 2,500 in the same season. Safety Michael Huff won the Jim Thorpe Award as the country's top defensive back. Huff, Young, offensive tackle Jonathan Scott and defensive tackle Rodrique Wright were named All-Americans. Texas had six players selected in the 2006 NFL draft and seven more in 2007.
Why they're No. 4: The Longhorns had the most prolific offense of the BCS era, setting an NCAA Division I-A record with 652 points scored during the 2005 season. Texas scored at least 40 points in all but one of its 13 games and 50 or more points seven times.
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