The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played its home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.

[9][10] Owing to its overwhelmingly dominant margins of victory, and its perfect record, this Longhorns team is often considered among the best in college football history.

[17][18] Media and fans of college football consider the UT program one of the great powerhouses of the game because of the school's winning record as well as their previous national championships in 1963, 1969 and 1970.

It should also be noted that Vince Young predicted that the Longhorns would return to the Rose Bowl next season in a post game interview where he proclaimed, "We'll be back!"

"[29] The success of the 2004 team and the efforts during the off-season fueled anticipation by sports writers that Texas would play for the national championship if they could win their away game against Ohio State University[30] and end their five-game losing streak against Oklahoma.

[38] On offense, starting running back Selvin Young injured his ankle in the game against Louisiana-Lafayette and re-injured it the following week against Ohio State.

In their first meeting in 2000, UT fell behind 10–0 before quarterback Major Applewhite entered the game late in the first quarter and threw for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns as the Longhorns scored 52 unanswered points in a 52–10 victory.

[23] Prior to kickoff of the 2005 game, the stadium announcer made an appeal for donations to help those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated parts of Louisiana five days previously.

The American Football Coaches Association brought the national championship trophy to the game and displayed it on the field near Bevo, the UT mascot (photo below).

UT's Aaron Harris sacked OSU's Troy Smith for a safety and Texas took a three-point lead, which they held when time expired.

UT then scored with a 38-yard field goal by Richmond McGee and a 64-yard long bomb from Young to Billy Pittman just before halftime, giving Texas a 24–6 lead at the half.

On October 29, 2005, Texas initially trailed but rallied to beat an Oklahoma State Cowboys team that had held a losing record through the season so far.

The Cowboys had lined up tight on 4th and inches as if trying a short, power run, but faked that play and threw a deep pass instead, catching the Longhorn defense off-guard.

Texas replied with a touchdown pass from Young to Thomas, but David Pino missed the extra point, allowing the Cowboys to retain the lead.

[118] Despite Oklahoma State's 0–4 start to conference play, they led Texas the entire first half, including a lead of as much as nineteen points.

Texas extended the lead in the second quarter with rushing touchdowns from Henry Melton, Jamaal Charles, and Ramonce Taylor.

[127] In order to win the 2004 game against the Kansas Jayhawks, Texas had to convert a 4th-and-18 situation and complete a touchdown pass with only eleven seconds remaining on the clock.

[133] After viewing this game as part of a recruiting visit to UT, Jevan Snead – ranked as one of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation, elected to switch his commitment from University of Florida to Texas.

Vince Young, Limas Sweed, David Thomas, and Jamaal Charles scored touchdowns in the second quarter to give the Horns a 42–3 lead at halftime.

[160] Following the victory, the largely UT crowd stayed in the stands to celebrate the Longhorns' return to the Rose Bowl—this time for a shot at a National Championship.

[169] Less than three weeks before the game, USC Trojan Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy—since vacated—ahead of second place finisher Vince Young.

[175][176][177] ESPN analysts were virtually unanimous in their declaration of the 2005 USC Trojans as the best offense in the history of college football,[168][175] despite the fact that they were in second place behind Texas in terms of points scored during the season.

[175] ESPN analysts Mark May and Kirk Herbstreit declared, before the 2005 Rose Bowl had even been played, that the 2005 USC Trojans were the second best college football team of the past 50 years.

"[179] Texas' Rose Bowl win was the 800th victory in school history[180] and it earned the Longhorns their fourth consensus national championship in football.

[209] Seconds after Texas beat Southern California 41–38, the university lit the UT tower orange, the traditional signal of victory on the campus.

[213] Since this was a national championship, office lights were also left selectively lit in order to form a number "1" on all four sides of the tower (pictured).

[217] They also printed a special commemorative issue in the state of Texas with Young on the cover, shouting in triumph amidst a storm of multi-colored confetti after winning the game.

General Mills produced a commemorative issue Wheaties box featuring Mack Brown and a Texas Longhorns football helmet on the front.

[220] Mack Brown was named the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year, as voted on by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

[17] In addition, Brandon Foster, Marcus Griffin, Nate Jones and Derek Lokey agreed to sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams.