Mack Brown looks back on using The Jerry Springer Show to loosen Texas up for 2005 national title

Back in January 2006, Texas and USC clashed in the Rose Bowl for the crown of National Champion. In what was dubbed “The Game of the Century,” the Longhorns upset the Trojans 41-38 to win their first title since 1970.

Legendary head coach Mack Brown, who led Texas to the historic win, recounted how he loosened his team up prior to the game on the “See Ball Get Ball” podcast hosted by David Pollack.

“I’m sitting there on gameday and it had been 35 years since Texas had won a national championship,” Brown said. “We are playing a great team and we’re in [Los Angeles] and they’re trying to get their third national championship. I’m 54 years old and I’m sitting in my room trying to figure out ‘what do you say?’ I’m flipping TV and I see Pat Riley come on and say ‘I think USC is gonna three-peat like I did with the Lakers’ and I said eh I don’t wanna see that.

“So I turned on this show called Jerry Springer. I’ve never seen Jerry Springer before. It was unbelievable. So I look up and I mean, this is crazy stuff. So I watched three 30-minute shows of Jerry Springer. And I said the team’s uptight and the staff’s uptight, this is what I’m gonna do. We go to the pregame talk and I walk in with all eyes on me. I can tell they are so uptight but it’s the national championship and you’re down to two. Nobody remembers who lost. You are down to two. It’s win or you’re out forever. If you win you’re a legacy forever.”

During his time at Texas, Brown led the Longhorns to a national championship, two Big 12 titles and six Big 12 South Division titles along with being named Big 12 Coach of the Year twice (2005 and 2009).

“So I walked in there and said thank you guys, thanks for getting us here,” Brown said. “Thank you from your parents to your coaches. It’s your team and you’re the ones who did this. But then I said how many of you have seen the show Jerry Springer? All of them raised their hands and I thought ‘oh that’s not good.’ But then I said okay, I’m gonna tell you something that’s gonna help you win this game, but it’s also gonna help you for the rest of your life. So man, I’ve got them. They are locked in.

“If your wife or your girlfriend EVER asks you to go on the Jerry Springer show, don’t go! It’s not good. And I mean they died laughing. And I said that’s right. We’re not gonna come out here uptight. We’re gonna relax, we’re gonna have fun, we’re gonna be us and we’re good enough to win being just us.”

Following that icebreaker by Brown, College Football Hall of Famer Vince Young would score the go-ahead rushing touchdown with 19 seconds remaining to give Texas the win. Who knew that The Jerry Springer Show, which has gone down in cable television history as one of the wildest shows to ever exist, may be the reason Texas has won a national championship in the 21st century.