LaMichael James (Oregon) Highlights 2011 - vs Wisconsin - Rose Bowl

Performance Rating: A

Good side: Great performance by James, he was constantly giving headaches to the Wisconsin's defensive coordinator, who didn't have solution how to stop him. He scored only one touchdown, but had many first downs.

Bad side: None, he had a great game.

ESPN Report:

The Oregon Ducks had waited 95 years to win another Rose Bowl presented by Vizio, and the last few seconds stretched for an eternity. The players in mirrored helmets held each other back on the sideline, waiting on tiptoes for video review to confirm Wisconsin was out of time.

The call went Oregon's way. The Ducks stormed the hallowed field.

The most futuristic team in college football had buried another bit of history, and that revolutionary offense finally has a shiny trophy that will look right at home among those eye-catching uniforms.

Darron Thomas passed for three touchdowns,De'Anthony Thomas scored on runs of 91 and 64 yards, and the Ducks (No. 5 BCS, No. 6 AP) earned their first bowl victory under coach Chip Kelly, holding off the Badgers 45-38 Monday night in the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever played.

"We had no doubt this year that we were going to come out and do big things," said Darron Thomas, who passed for 268 yards. "It's a big statement for the Oregon program."

Indeed: The last time Oregon won the Rose Bowl, beating Penn 14-0 in 1917, the players wore leather helmets, not those shiny numbers that exemplify every innovation the Ducks have created during Kelly's three-year tenure.

Oregon (12-2) showed off that creativity with 621 total yards -- second-most in Rose Bowl history -- against the tough Badgers, playing at its usual frantic pace until the final whistle. Lavasier Tuinei caught eight passes for 158 yards and two TDs for the Ducks, who had no postseason success to show for Kelly's otherwise wildly successful three-year tenure until this landmark offensive performance.

"None of us were around 95 years ago, and we never talked about it," Kelly said. "We're a forward-thinking operation, and we're always looking ahead."

Maybe so, but it's unlikely anybody from Oregon will forget how this one ended.

With two long passes, Russell Wilson moved the Badgers to the Oregon 25, but with 2 seconds left and no timeouts. After waiting for the ball to be set, he spiked it to set up a last-ditch heave to the end zone, but the clock hit zeroes while he did it.

The Ducks were winners after video review, holding Wisconsin scoreless in the fourth quarter.

"It would have been nice to have a chance there," said Wilson, who passed for 296 yards and two scores. "With 1 second left, I think we could have capitalized."

The Ducks don't doubt it: The 98th Rose Bowl was that kind of game. The Granddaddy of Them All had never seen this many points, beating the record 80 scored by Washington and Iowa in 1991.

"We knew we had to score almost every time we touched the ball," Wisconsin tailbackJames White said.

Montee Ball rushed for 122 of his 164 yards in the first half for the Badgers (11-3), who lost the Rose Bowl for the second straight year despite managing 508 yards of their own. Ball tied Barry Sanders' FBS record with his 39th touchdown of the season, but the Heisman Trophy finalist was held to three carries for no yards in the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin had two drives to tie it after Oregon kicked a field goal with 6:50 to play, butJared Abbrederis fumbled near the Oregon sideline after making a long catch. The ball plopped onto the turf without even bouncing, and Oregon's Michael Clay jumped on it with 4:06 left.

That video review went the Ducks' way, too.

"I have to be more careful with the ball," said Abbrederis, who made a TD catch on the opening drive. "They made a big play. I can't dwell on this. I have to move forward and look towards next year. We're all human. This will make me better."

The Ducks and Badgers produced the highest-scoring first quarter (14-14) and first half (28-28) in Rose Bowl history, eventually surpassing the 80 scored in Washington's 46-34 win over Iowa in 1991. Oregon's yardage fell just short of USC's 633 yards against Illinois in 2008.

Sure, Baylor's 67-56 win over Washington in the Valero Alamo Bowl last Thursday might have packed bigger sheer numbers. But Wisconsin and Oregon commanded a much bigger stage -- and the Ducks unleashed every bit of their formidable offensive power.

Tuinei was named the Ducks' offensive player of the game, but their flashiest star in those futuristic helmets was De'Anthony Thomas, the freshman from Los Angeles who showed off his electrifying athleticism on the longest scoring run in Rose Bowl history in the second quarter, going 91 yards up the middle. He added a 64-yard scoring run in the opening minute of the second half as Oregon won the matchup of the last two losers of the Rose Bowl.

Wisconsin lost 21-19 to TCU last season, and the Ducks lost to Ohio State two years ago before losing the BCS title game last year.

"It almost felt like there was some sort of magical force keeping us from getting it done in bowl games," Oregon guard Carson York said. "Glad we did it today."

LaMichael James rushed for 159 yards and an early TD in his likely college finale for the Ducks, and Kenjon Barner caught a TD pass from Darron Thomas.

Nick Toon caught a TD pass for Wisconsin, and defensive end Louis Nzegwu returned a fumble 33 yards for a score in the second quarter.

Both teams won their respective conferences' first-ever league title games to earn this trip to Pasadena. Although the Ducks' drought was generations longer, Wisconsin hasn't won in Pasadena since Jan. 1, 2000, when Ron Dayne led the Badgers to back-to-back Rose Bowl titles.

Oregon quickly debunked the theory that teams with extra time to prepare for the Ducks' inventive offense have a better chance to stop it. The Ducks were 1-4 in bowl games and season openers under Kelly until they carved up Wisconsin with the second-biggest yardage performance in Rose Bowl history.

Wisconsin set the tone from its opening drive, going 77 yards in seven plays for Abbrederis' wide-open 38-yard TD catch just 3:12 in.

De'Anthony Thomas ended the record-breaking first quarter by bursting through the Wisconsin line and sprinting down the Oregon sideline for a 91-yard score, surpassing Tyrone Wheatley's bowl-record 88-yard run in 1993 and capping the second-longest scoring drive in Rose Bowl history at 95 yards with Oregon's longest run all season.

Wisconsin opened the second quarter with Ball's record-tying TD, but Darron Thomas found Barner open down the seam for a 54-yard score on Oregon's next play. Both defenses then got a brief chance to shine: The Ducks stopped Wisconsin on fourth down inside the Oregon 20, but blitzing Wisconsin linebacker Mike Taylor forced Darron Thomas' fumble moments later, and Nzegwu scooped and scored.

Oregon calmly answered with Tuinei's 3-yard TD catch with 30 seconds left. The teams' 56 combined points in the first half surpassed the record 45 scored by Wisconsin and UCLA in 1999.

De'Anthony Thomas' 64-yard TD run put Oregon ahead for the first time, but the Badgers swung ahead with Wilson's 18-yard TD pass to Toon. After the quarterbacks traded interceptions, Darron Thomas found Tuinei for his second score just 25 seconds into the fourth quarter, putting the Ducks ahead to stay.

Game notes

The game-time temperature was 82 degrees, making it the warmest bowl game in Wisconsin history. ... It was also the highest-scoring bowl game in Wisconsin history, and the Badgers tied the school bowl record with 38 points. ... Oregon is 2-4 in the Rose Bowl. ... Oregon LB Kiko Alonso was the defensive player of the game with an interception and 1½ sacks.

Vince Young (Texas) Highlights 2005 - vs Kansas Jayhawks

Performance Rating: A

Good side: Young had great first half with 4 Touchdown passes, he was finding his wide receivers well, also had few deep balls and great decisions. 

Bad side: He had bad game rushing the ball with -4 yards in 6 attempts. He also dropped two snaps, but somehow recovered them. He almost got intercepeted in 2 or 3 occasions.

ESPN report:

If this is what happens when Vince Young gets mad, watch out.

Still steamed over comments Kansas coach Mark Mangino made after Texas beat the Jayhawks last year, Young passed for 281 yards and a career-high four touchdowns Saturday as the No. 2 Longhorns rolled to a 66-14 victory that clinched the Big 12 South Division title.

After misfiring on his first three passes, Young completed eight in a row with scoring strikes of 45, 64 and 29 yards in a victory that left Mangino praising the Longhorns this time.

"I don't think I've ever been on a field where I have seen so many big, strong, fast, talented kids," said Mangino, who called Young "phenomenal."

Last year, Young's late game heroics pulled out a 27-23 Texas win on the road. Mangino complained bitterly that his team had outplayed Texas but had been victimized by a late-game penalty and the Big 12 slapped him with a $5,000 fine.

Young said early in the week he felt Mangino's comments last year had "disrespected" Texas and set out to make sure it didn't happen again.

"When somebody talks about your coaches and players, it's like someone talking about your mother," Young said.

The Longhorns sprinted to a 52-0 lead by halftime in a game that was every bit as ugly as the score would suggest.

Texas (10-0, 7-0) held the Jayhawks (5-5, 2-5) to one first down in the first half and rolled up 618 total yards, 336 on the ground against the nation's toughest run defense. The 52 points tied a school record for most points in a half.

The victory sends Texas to the Big 12 title game on Dec. 3 for the first time since 2001, although their fans are thinking well beyond that.

Television cameras showed several fans waving red roses and those who stayed until the end chanted "Rose Bowl!" and "Heisman!" as Young and the players left the field after their final home game of the season.

Young became Texas' career total offense leader with 8,269 yards, breaking the school record of 8,059 set by Major Applewhite (1998-2001). He passed for 264 yards and all four TDs in the first half and left the game with five minutes to play in the third quarter.

"It's great to break records, but I'm always giving respect to the guys who have been through it," Young said.

Young started the avalanche of points with his 45-yard scoring toss to Limas Sweed on a deep route over the middle. The 6-foot-5 receiver jumped over 5-11 cornerback Theo Baines in the end zone for the touchdown.

Kansas' Greg Heaggins fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Texas recovered at the Jayhawks' 10. Texas' second TD in 13 seconds made it 14-0 when Jamaal Charles weaved his way through four tacklers to reach the goal line on the next play.

Young hit Quan Cosby on another deep route for a 21-0 lead. A Kansas defensive back grabbed Cosby's jersey to keep him from getting to the ball, but Cosby fought through the hold to grab the pass and streak to the end zone.

"His passing is night and day from last year," Jayhawks linebacker Nick Reid said. "It was pretty embarrassing. They really put it to us."

Texas then forced a punt and Aaron Ross took it straight up the middle of the field, dodging two tacklers as he went 71 yards on his second scoring return of the year.

By the time Texas led 28-0 in the first quarter, the Longhorns has as many touchdowns (four) as first downs. And the scoring was just getting started.

"Their whole focus was to stop the run," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We started throwing the ball all over the place to let them know we were interested in winning the game."

Ramonce Taylor scored on an 8-yard run in which he started left, turned around and reversed field before ducking under two tacklers at the goal line. Young's third TD pass, 29 yards to tight end David Thomas, made it 42-0.

Young's fourth scoring pass came when he rolled to his right on a bootleg before hitting freshman tight end Peter Ullman in the end zone. David Pino's 35-yard field goal pushed the Longhorns over 50 points for third time in four games.

"We went out there and took care of the whole game, offense, defense and special teams," Young said. "It showed how much we have."