UCLA Makes Most of Big Plays in 20-17 Win Over Longhorns

By Steve Habel/Associate Editor

ARLINGTON, Texas — If the growth of a football team is measured in steps, no doubt remains that Texas is on the upswing after losing 20-17 to 12-ranked UCLA Saturday night in the AdvoCare Cowboys Showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Doubters might say that the Longhorns had no place to go but up after losing to BYU the week before, but that’s a defeatist opinion. Texas, with sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes showing more confidence with every snap, stood toe-to-toe with the Bruins until the final minutes.

That’s when the Horns’ inexperience came to the forefront as UCLA made two huge plays on its winning drive to find a way to pull victory out of the jaws of defeat.

UCLA backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel hit Jordan Payton on a 33-yard scoring pass with 3:00 to play to give the Bruins (3-0) the win. The TD came on the play following a 45-yard punt return by the Bruins’ Ishmael Adams and [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)] stunned the Horns and the majority of the 60,479 fans in attendance.

“Anytime you get a big punt return like (UCLA) had you just figure that they’re going to come with something,” Texas coach Charlie Strong said. “We’ve got to be ready and just don’t give them anything. They had to score to win the game, and we end up giving up the big play there.”

For a short time in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns (1-2) looked like they might spring an upset in the House That Jerry Built. Down 13-10 after a mostly lackluster third quarter, Swoopes engineered a clutch 80-yard, 10-play drive that ended with his 2-yard touchdown pass to John Harris and a 17-13 lead with 5:13 to play.

But the Horns couldn’t work any magic on their final two possessions – the final of which began at the UT 23 with 2:55 to play and netted just three yards before a fourth-down incompletion – and UCLA ran out the clock.

“There’s no doubt this (game) was a missed opportunity,” Texas defensive back Quandre Diggs said. “We didn’t capitalize on what we should have capitalized on. We have to do better in those situations. We just have to go back to grinding.”

UCLA forged a 3-0 lead in the final minute of the first quarter on a 47-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn and the Horns had to be relieved to be down by just a three points.

The game changed dramatically on that Bruins’ scoring drive when dual-treat Heisman Trophy candidate Brett Hundley injured his left elbow during a scrambling run, sending Neuheisel into the fray.

The Bruins had two huge offensive plays called back in the first quarter because of penalties, allowing Texas to dodge an early bullet or two and gain some momentum.

It helped that UCLA went conservative on offense after the loss of Hundley and that the Texas attack, spurred by the maturing-right-before-our-eyes Swoopes, found some footing against a surprisingly underwhelming Bruins’ defense.

Texas tied the game at 3-3 at the 10:32 mark of the second quarter when a 10-play drive moved the Horns close enough for a 33-yard field goal by Nick Rose.

On the following possession, UCLA managed just three yards of offense on six snaps from deep in its own territory and was forced to punt.

Swoopes then marshaled a 14-play, 62-yard drive that culminated in his 2-yard touchdown pass to M.J. McFarland and 10-3 Longhorns’ lead that spurred the mostly Texas crowd to rattle the foundations of the huge stadium.

UCLA hit its first key play on its first offensive snap of the third quarter, when Jerry Perkins ran for 58 yards to the UT 17.

“We had a missed tackle,” Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said of the Perkins run. “We were there at the point of attack and had a chance to make a one-on-one tackle and we didn’t come down with it.”

It took the Bruins six more plays to score – the touchdown came on Neuheisel’s 3-yard, jump-ball pass to Nate Iese that floated over Texas linebacker Steve Edmond – and tied the game at 10-10.

Both teams struggled for the rest of the third quarter, which ended with UCLA one play into a 16-play drive that allowed Fairbairn to kick a 25-yard field goal that gave the Bruins their 13-10 lead.

The final nine minutes was a wild stretch, with UCLA making the most and the biggest plays and Texas leaving the D-FW Metroplex frustrated and lamenting about the game that it let get away.

“We definitely played a little harder (than last week) and coach Strong told us he liked our effort,” said Texas running back Malcolm Brown, who led the Horns’ rushing attack with 69 yards on 14 carries. “We still came out with a loss. That’s the bottom line. We have to get better.”

Texas will have an open date on Sept. 20 before traveling to Kansas for its Big 12 Conference opener on Sept. 27. Then comes a home game versus Baylor and Oklahoma in Dallas.

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