A break from the monotony of complaining about an ever-growing government, and the infringements on our rights… Sports & Music have always been my escape, but the problem with music is that I find myself listening to some very politicized bands, like Rage Against the Machine, and Anti-Flag.

So I end up turning to sports, and also the occasional 12 rounds with Jack Daniel. But that’s beside the point. Joe Paterno and Penn State is probably the feel-good story of the year for NCAA football, many analysts I believe had picked the Nittany Lions to finish 8 or 9 in the Big 10 conference, and JoePa has had a horrendous run the last few years, so when they finished the regular season 2 seconds away from an undefeated season, ranked 3rd in the nation, and won the Big 10, it’s kind of refreshing. They faced off the other night with Florida State University, in the Orange Bowl, and it was one of the best college football games I can remember seeing. JoePa and Bobby Bowden, legendary for the sheer number of wins they’ve been able to compile over the years, meeting on the post-season field. Penn State’s big-ten linebacker defense stopping Florida State’s traditionally speed-oriented offense. Penn-State’s Butkus award winning linebacker going down with a knee injury with 6 minutes left, and being replaced by an 18 year old true freshman. All sorts of missed Field Goals, I was about to have a heart attack, and I was sure that the following day, one of those poor kickers was going to be up in the attic with a shotgun…

Three overtimes later, (and a few more missed FGs/PATs) the Penn State Nittany Lions pulled off the victory. Great game. How could Wednesday’s Rose Bowl ever compare? The hype had been building for so long, like the guys on ESPN said, these games never live up their hype. Never.

And what a rarety, to begin with. Two undefeated teams, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation. Both riding ridiculous winning streaks, USC running for their 35th consecutive, and aiming for an unprecedented 3rd National Championship in a row, a backfield full of Heisman contenders, and Texas’ Vince Young, himself a Heisman hopeful, one of the most electrifying players in NCAA football (better than Michael Vick, baby, because he can pass) who singlehandedly bitch-slapped the Michigan Wolverines in the same venue, one year ago. I mean, this game had all the workings of an classic let-down.

ESPN’s Bill Simmons kept a running diary of the game, which is really something I ought to do from time to time. I’ll be pulling my quotes from there, so I figured I’d give him some cred.

And it looked like it might go that way, after Texas held USC to a 3-and-out on their first drive, they miraculously fumbled the ball on the return, allowing USC to get the ball back at midfield, and go up 7-0 early in the game. But then, Mr Heisman himself commit the single dumbest thing i’ve ever seen in sports: Per Bill Simmons

9:11 — Crazy turn of events: Bush rips off a 35-yard screen pass, gets chased down deep in Texas territory, then throws a boneheaded lateral to an unsuspecting teammate that’s recovered by Texas. USC should be up by 20 points already. … (By the way, I was sifting through e-mails at halftime and noticed one from Chicago reader Steve Huffman, who wrote, “It occurred to me immediately that Reggie Bush’s ill-fated pitch in the second quarter was an ‘I’m Keith Hernandez’ moment.” An excellent call. It’s not like Reggie was forcing a bad play, he was probably just thinking to himself, “Screw it, I’m Reggie Bush … I won the Heisman and I’m the first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft … let’s see if I can pull this off.” Can you blame him?)

Texas took the lead, and held it for quite some time, until USC, who outscored opponents 70-7 when trailing at half-time, turned on the afterburners, and Leinert went all Leinert on them, completing 15 of 17 in the 2nd half. It looked really bad for Texas, down 12 with the clock running down. Except, someone forgot to tell Vince Young that Texas wasn’t supposed to win.

11:59 — This just in: Vince Young is awesome. He just single-handedly kept Texas alive with two crazy scrambles (including a 17-yarder for a TD to cut USC’s lead to five). Sure, it’s helping that USC is steadfastly refusing to keep extra defenders around the line of scrimmage to contain a guy who doesn’t seem like he can successfully throw deep, but still. Fouts sums it up best: “I’ve never seen anything like him in my life.”

and then, after holding USC on 4th & 1, which probably caused several heart attacks:

12:16 — Facing a game-deciding fourth-and-5 from the 8-yard line, Young lines up behind center as Jackson chuckles, “I’m too old for this.” High comedy. I’m shaking and I don’t even have money on this game. The snap, some pressure, Young has to scramble … touchdown, Texas! Wait, can I swear on ESPN.com? Because that was (bleeping) unbelievable! Vince Young, everybody! He’s just joined the 200-200 club.

“You’re not gonna beat him!” Fouts screams. “Invincible!”

Glued to the edge of my seat for the last half hour watching that game with my roommate Chris. Best. College. Football. Game. Ever. This game should be on ESPN Classic by lunchtime today.

Says Pete Carrol, USC Head Coach: “[Vince Young] is an extraordinary player.”