PASADENA, Calif. — All season long, Texas put its championship hopes in Vince Young's hands — and he never failed to deliver.

With the national title down to a final play — fourth down and 5 yards to go — it was up to Young again, and the Longhorns loved their chances.

Texas' dynamic quarterback scrambled untouched for an 8-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left and the No. 2 Longhorns stunned No. 1 Southern California 41-38 in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.

"We never, ever, really thought we'd lose the ballgame," Texas coach Mack Brown said.

He did it all — and made sure Texas was second no more to USC and its Heisman Trophy twins, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart.

"Do whatever it takes," Young said.

It was the ultimate revenge for Young, the bitterly disappointed runner-up to Bush for the Heisman last month.

At the Heisman presentation, Young had a blank stare and reluctantly clapped after he lost in a landslide to Bush. After winning the biggest team prize of all, he beamed with a satisfied smile, hugging anyone he could find.

Young ran for 200 yards, passed for 267 more and made a pitchout — replays showed he was down, but it wasn't called — for a score. He capped a performance that Texas fans will remember forever by scoring his third TD and running for a 2-point conversion.

Behind him, the Longhorns ended the Trojans' 34-game winning streak and denied them an unprecedented third straight national championship.

"It's so beautiful," Young said as he received the MVP crystal. "Don't you think that's beautiful? It's coming home all the way to Austin, Texas."

The Longhorns were a unanimous No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 and won the Bowl Championship Series title with this victory.

"This is what it's all about, 41-38 in the final game," said Leinart, the Trojans quarterback and Heisman winner a year ago. "You couldn't ask for anything better. This was a great football game. We gave our hearts, they gave their hearts, and they came out on top."

The Longhorns (13-0) won their 20th in a row. USC (12-1) lost for the first time since a triple-overtime defeat to California on Sept. 27, 2003. Its 34-game winning streak is tied for sixth all-time in Division I-A, behind Oklahoma's 47-game run from 1953-57.

"Well, we couldn't stop them when we had to," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "The quarterback ran all over the place. This is their night. It's wonderful doing what we've been doing. We didn't get it done."