 According to USA Today , the match @-@ up between the Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes ( OSU ) was one of the most @-@ anticipated games of the 2005 season . Teams have become increasingly conservative in scheduling highly ranked non @-@ conference opponents , so a meeting of the number 2 and number 4 teams in the country was unusual this early in the season . Because of the significance of the game in the national championship race , ESPN College GameDay chose the game as the site of its weekly broadcast . 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 ) . 
