20 Years Later, Texas Longhorns Still Crush 2025 National Title Matchup

Despite the 2005 National Championship being 20 years ago, it still sits as one of the best games in college football history, at least according to the ratings.

Texas quarterback Vince Young scores a touchdown against USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Xxx Rose Bowl 561 Jpg S Fbc Usa Ca | Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK

The college football season is over, and with it came another year of chaos and some of the best memories a season can hold. Also with it came another national championship, this time featuring the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes, both new entrants since the beginning of the College Football Playoff.

Even then, with an exciting matchup between a new face who could turn into the new powerhouse, and an old dominant face from before this century, the Texas Longhorns still take the cake for the most watched national championship since the start of the BCS era.

The thrilling matchup from 2005, in a battle of the titans, the Longhorns and USC Trojans at the historic Rose Bowl stadium still averaged five million more viewers than the Hoosiers and Hurricanes (30.1 million).

NEW: Indiana's win over Miami in the National Championship averaged 30.1M viewers, per @ESPNPR🤯

The 2nd most-watched College Football Playoff title game behind Ohio State-Oregon in 2015 (34.1M) https://t.co/X7Tn58KsLs pic.twitter.com/1MK3A5XkoC

— On3 (@On3) January 22, 2026

Remembering 20 Years Later

Texas Longhorns quarterback Vince Young in action against the Southern California Trojans during the 2006 Rose Bowl at the Rose Bowl. | Imagn Images

It's been 20 long years since the last time the clock tower on the Forty Acres was lit up burnt orange in celebration of a football national championship. That night was magical for the Longhorns fans who remember it, capped of by the Vince Young touchdown to the corner of the end zone that sent the stadium, and Austin, into a frenzy.

It was a back and forth game, as it was expected to be with two of the sports best offensive players, Young and then Heisman winner Reggie Bush on the field for their respective teams. It was Young, and the Longhorns offense that stole the show though. He rushed for 200 yards, was the games leading rusher, and finished with just nine less yards than the Trojans had total as a team.

He also finished with 267 yards through the air, nearly 100 less yards than his counterpart Matt Lienart had, but finished with one more completion (30) despite both quarterbacks having 40 attempts each.

It was a spectacle of future NFL talent, and two of the most stories programs in the sports history, paired with two of the most respected coaches at the time in Mack Brown and Pete Carroll. Everything aligned for it to be a battle between titans, and while the product on the field did not disappoint, the fans showed up.

It still stands as the most watched college national championship in the BCS era, and if the 2026 championship couldn't take it down, it might take the Longhorns returning to the contest to give it a run for its money.