In the world of ultimate bowl games, they don’t dream them up any better. Here’s your Orange Bowl on Tuesday night. The unbeaten USC Trojans. The unbeaten Oklahoma Sooners. No. 1 vs. No. 2. The ghost of Heisman past (Oklahoma’s Jason White) vs. Heisman present (USC’s Matt Leinart). Trojan Horse vs. Sooner Schooner.

There’s so much at stake, more than you imagine.

National championship? Oh that. Yes, it will be decided, too (although you might get an argument ... a darn good one, all you BCS stuffed shirts ... from the Sugar Bowl-champion Auburn Tigers).

But USC-Oklahoma has storylines galore. It’s more of a mini-series than a bowl game.

Orange Bowl USC 55, Oklahoma 19 Game summary Leinart's 5 TD passes lift Trojans Litke: USC a dynasty in the making TSN: Trojan dynasty? Not so fast Celizic: Carroll coaching genius Hyde: Woeful finish for OU's White

There’s something for everyone.

Let’s take ‘em one at a time.

BEST GAME EVER
OK, we know what you’re thinking. How many Super Bowls were given this pregame hype-filled designation? And how many ended up like a one-punch heavyweight fight?

Answer: Plenty.

Here’s a quick list of unforgettable recent bowl games that clinched national championships.

• 2002 season: Ohio State 31, Miami 24, double overtime, at the Fiesta Bowl. The game that wouldn’t quit ... and literally, DIDN’T ... after officials tossed a controversial pass interference flag against Miami after the Hurricanes ran on the field, celebrating an apparent fourth-down stop in the first OT.
• 1993 season: Florida State 18, Nebraska 16 at the Orange Bowl. Cornhuskers get a last-play field-goal attempt, after FSU coach Bobby Bowden gets dumped with Gatorade. Bowden, looking like a wet kitten, had to sweat out his first national title.
• 1986 season: Penn State 14, Miami 10 at the Fiesta Bowl. Joe Paterno’s coaching clinic defeats one of the most powerful teams in college football history as the Nittany Lions intercept Vinny Testaverde five times.
• 1983 season: Miami 31, Nebraska 30 at the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes jump from No. 5 to No. 1 after beating the unbeatable Cornhuskers. Gutsy Tom Osborne goes for two ... and the attempt is batted down by Miami’s Kenny Calhoun in the dying seconds.
• 1978 season: Split national title. Alabama gets the AP nod with a monumental goal line stand in a 14-7 win against Penn State at the Sugar Bowl. USC takes No. 1 in UPI ... anybody remember Charles White’s phantom fumble? ... in a 17-10 win against Michigan at the Rose Bowl.
• 1974 season: USC 18, Ohio State 17 at the Rose Bowl. The Trojans bag No. 1 on Pat Haden’s late two-point conversion pass to Shelton Diggs. Probation-laden Oklahoma is unbeaten and No. 1 in the AP poll.
• 1973 season: Notre Dame 24, Alabama 23 at the Sugar Bowl. In the shadow of his goalpost, Notre Dame’s Tom Clements hits Robin Webber on a game-saving third-down pass.

We could go on and on.

So many memories.

You know what? USC-Oklahoma might top them all, if the Orange Bowl lives up to its billing.

TEAM OF THE DECADE
Seems like the millennium New Year’s Eve was just yesterday, doesn’t it? We all survived. So did college football. And even in this age of unprecedented parity and scholarship limits, the Orange Bowl winner gets a leg up toward team of the decade distinction.

Following the 2000 season, Oklahoma beat Florida State to win the Orange Bowl, complete a 13-0 year and win the national title. Following the 2003 season, USC defeated Michigan to win the Rose Bowl, complete a 12-1 year and win a share of the national title.

Nebraska was probably the team of the 1990s (three unbeaten seasons, a share of three national titles). For this decade, the 2000s, the early nod goes to the USC-Oklahoma winner.

THE 2005 HEISMAN
Gentlemen, start your Heisman ballots. And we’re not talking about Jason White or Matt Leinart. Although the double-Heisman matchup will be beaten to death — and it should, since this has NEVER happened in college football history — it’s never too early to start thinking about next December’s voting.

How can you not? With electrifying USC sophomore Reggie Bush and thunderous Oklahoma freshman Adrian Peterson, this golden night might be tinted in bronze. If Bush or Peterson puts on a particularly memorable show, pencil them in as the 2005 Heisman favorite. Neither will need directions to the awards show. After all, Bush and Peterson were underclassmen finalists for this year’s Heisman, which went to Leinart.

And speaking of Leinart ...

THE NFL DRAFT
Leinart has said he plans on returning to USC. If the Trojans win the Orange Bowl, what’s left? He will have two national titles, plus the Heisman Trophy. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, with a 22-game winning streak, his NFL marketability will never be higher. Who would expect a return to USC then? On the other hand, the possibility of playing for the woeful San Francisco 49ers may be enough to scare Leinart back to campus.

Or he could pull an Eli Manning and try to name his ticket.

Anyway, an Orange Bowl victory should give Mr. Leinart plenty to ponder.

CALL ME COACH
A victory by USC’s Pete Carroll or Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops undoubtedly throw their names in the hopper for any NFL coaching vacancy. After all, ’tis the season.

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Carroll/Stoops will be raising the crystal football at Miami’s Pro Player Stadium, future home of LSU-turned-Miami-Dolphin coach Nick Saban, who couldn’t resist the challenge, the power and the $$$$.

Carroll says he knows better, having found his USC calling after getting dumped by the Jets and Patriots. Stoops spent the last half of this season fending off Florida Gator rumors and repeatedly saying how happy he was at Oklahoma. Will he get restless with another title? I’d say no. But then again, I also thought Saban would stay at LSU.

RECRUITING
Of course, the lifeblood of college football is at stake. If you want to identify the nation’s top high-school prospects, just look at the recruiting wish-lists for USC and Oklahoma. The Trojans and Sooners get who they want, even chipping away at the big-timers in the state of Florida during a down year for Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes. An Orange Bowl victory and No. 1 status will be a powerful bargaining chip to lure prep stars.

BCS FUTURE
The Bowl Championship Series has reached its lowest ebb. Last season, No. 1-ranked USC didn’t make the BCS big game. This season, unbeaten Auburn was on the outside looking in and an excellent 10-1 California team was knocked out of the Rose Bowl by 10-1 Texas in a downright polling fiasco.

Now the AP has pulled its poll from the BCS rankings. The system will be altered ... again.

Not that the BCS deserves it, but a classic Orange Bowl could wipe away the bad taste. If fans click off their televisions saying, “No doubt about it, those were the top two teams,” BCS zealots will talk endlessly about how their system worked.

On the other hand, if the Orange Bowl is an unexpected dog, and Auburn's case gains some strength, the clamor to change could reach fever pitch.

Either way, this Orange Bowl is an especially big game for the BCS system, whether you like it or not.

CONFERENCE CALL
The bowl season always serves as a barometer for the strength of major conferences.

The Pac-10, maligned as too soft in the pre-USC-dominance era, could finish 3-2 if USC takes the Orange Bowl.

The Big 12, engaged in an annual staredown with the SEC for best league, could finish 5-2 — best among all conferences — if Oklahoma wins the Orange Bowl. Plus, Texas might finish as high as No. 3.

So there’s your Orange Bowl.

It could decide history, not to mention the 2005 Heisman, the conference power structure, the NFL Draft and the direction of the BCS.

Along with, of course, the national championship.

With this much at stake, maybe it is the ultimate game.

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