No. 2 Longhorns leave no margin for upset in Big 12 title game

~ Texas hammered Colorado 70-3 to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl.

HOUSTON -- The quarterback pinned one behind his ear. The coach cradled an entire bouquet. The Texas Longhorns came out smelling like roses, with a resounding win that put them one victory away from the national title that has eluded the program for decades.

Led by four touchdowns from Vince Young and three more from Jamaal Charles, the second-ranked Longhorns put a Texas-sized thumping on Colorado, 70-3 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.

Next stop, the Rose Bowl, for the BCS title on Jan. 4.

"This bunch, all year, has controlled their own destiny, and they did the same today," coach Mack Brown said.

After their thorough dismantling of the Buffs -- the eighth-largest margin of victory the program's 113-year history -- the Longhorns (12-0) advanced to the Rose Bowl, where they will play the nation's only other undefeated team, No. 1 USC. The Longhorns are going for their first undisputed national title since 1969, when Darrell Royal worked the sidelines.

Saturday's win gave Texas its first Big 12 title since 1996 and the first title of any kind for Brown, the veteran coach who built a reputation for his ability to recruit great teams but never take them to the ultimate destination.

"To get him this victory, we love playing for a guy like that," Young said.

Colorado (7-5) was a vastly overmatched opponent -- a team they had already beaten 42-17 in the regular season.

But the Longhorns took care of business early, grabbing a 14-0 lead after 11 minutes and 35-3 midway through the second quarter.

Young, in the two-plus quarters he played, finished 14-for-17 for 193 yards with three touchdown passes.

"I'd just like to say, look at the year," Brown said when asked about his quarterback's Heisman bid. "Vince Young is a great football player and to me, the most valuable player on our football team for sure, and on any team in the country."

His second touchdown throw, a 31-yarder to Limas Sweed (five catches, 102 yards), was well covered but nearly impossible to defend because of the way Sweed screened himself away from the defender and the way Young threw the pass so nobody but his receiver could catch it.

Young's 8-yard TD to David Thomas was similarly brilliant, thrown toward the sideline as Thomas laid out to make the catch -- again well covered but in a spot where only he could make the play.

Maybe Young's best play, though, was his 2-yard touchdown run, a play in which all four Texas receivers were covered, as were all the outside running lanes. So, Young simply picked and poked and tiptoed his way through the inside, knocking down his own teammate, guard Will Allen, to get to the end zone standing up.

The blowout got even more ridiculous in the third quarter when Texas scored on its first possession, scored again off a blocked punt, then made it 63-3 on a run by Charles (seven carries, 62 yards) after Colorado lost a fumble at its 26.

That score, with 9 minuts, 59 seconds to play in the third quarter, gave Young the rest of the day off.

Texas won its games this season by an average score of 50-14.

As for Colorado, well, what really is there to say? Counting their 30-3 loss last week to Nebraska, the Buffs have been outscored 100-6 the last two weeks. This debacle comes a year after their 42-3 loss to Oklahoma in the title game. On Saturday, CU trailed 42-3 at halftime.

"A pretty numbing game," CU coach Gary Barnett called it.