From ESPN insider

How Texas can upset UCLA
Ryan McGee [ARCHIVE]

ESPN Insider | September 10, 2014

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Coach Jim Mora Jr. can only hope his Bruins are ready to turn a corner in Austin.
Who exactly are the UCLA Bruins?

In their Week 1 trip to Virginia, they played horribly on offense but won a 28-20 game by scoring three defensive touchdowns. Yes, three. One week later they nearly lost to Memphis at the Rose Bowl but held on for a 42-35 win. That same defense allowed 35 points, but quarterback Brett Hundley led an offense that racked up 540 yards. The bottom line is that UCLA is 2-0, but it certainly isn't the kind of undefeated record coach Jim Mora Jr. expected in games his team entered as 21- and 22-point favorites.

So what is Texas supposed to make of such inconsistent game film? The struggling Longhorns, who as of Tuesday night were 7½-point underdogs at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, had better decipher it in a hurry. Because they need to gain some sort of traction quickly, before the Big 12 comes calling at the end of the month. To find out where Texas should focus, we turned to the two coaching staffs that nearly knocked off the Bruins.

Speed-rush the middle
Virginia sacked Hundley five times, but two of those came on the Bruins' second drive of the day. The threat of a third drew a holding penalty that quashed UCLA's first sign of any offensive momentum. The majority of that pressure came up the middle, as all five sacks were made by linebackers. At the time, that success was written off because of the absence of preseason All-Pac-12 center Jake Brendel, who missed the UVa game with a sprained knee, forcing guard Scott Quessenberry to center and freshman NaJee Toran into the lineup at guard.

But even when everyone returned to their natural positions in Week 2, Memphis still was able to record four sacks, again primarily via the blitz, with two from speedy linebacker Tank Jakes.

"When they are struggling to run the ball as they are right now, there are opportunities to get to the quarterback simply because he's back there so much," said third-year Memphis coach Justin Fuente. "But the margin for error is very small when the quarterback has an arm like [Hundley] does. You better get to him in a hurry, before he sees the gap you've left and he fires it in there. That's why I think we saw a lot of no-huddle."

On paper, getting after a quarterback should be a Texas strength, with a defensive front, linebackers and a defensive backfield that my Insider colleague Phil Steele had ranked fourth, second and ninth, respectively, in his preseason unit evaluations. But those units were depleted by Charlie Strong suspensions and also gave up 41 points and 429 yards of offense to BYU in Week 2.

Force them to run the ball
The Bruins also show a lot of no-huddle because they haven't had much success with running the ball from under center. Running back Paul Perkins is an explosive threat, but there hasn't been consistency. Even with the restored O-line, their per-rush average jumped only slightly, from 3 yards per carry against Virginia to 3.5 against Memphis.

The Tigers' coaches admit they expected to see some carries from linebacker-turned-Ironman Myles Jack, but he only had three touches for seven yards, though one of them did result in a touchdown. Mora continues to hint at more Jack in the near future, but that might open up another problem: fielding an exhausted linebacker in the middle of a still-developing D.

Hope Hundley sticks to the pocket
When asked whether they had expected the player with all the preseason Heisman buzz to run the ball more than he did, coaches from Virginia and Memphis both said yes.


Icon SMI
For the time being, UCLA benefits from keeping QB Brett Hundley in the pocket.
Last season, Hundley ran for 748 yards and 11 TDs; in his first two games alone, he amassed 124 yards on 26 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. This season he's also been credited with 26 carries in his first two games, but only gained 65 yards and scored once.

"I understand that, especially being early in the season, you don't want to wear a guy out with 20-something carries in a game," Virginia coach Mike London said. "But yes, I think we did expect him to run it more. Even when he didn't, we still had to account for that threat."

Both UVa and Memphis spent significant time in game prep getting ready for Hundley to use play-action and throw on the run. It just never happened. Still, UCLA's one-dimensional approach was effective because the Cavs and Tigers had to remain ready for the possibility. Perhaps Mora's plan is to hang onto those playbook pages until conference play -- or against Texas on Saturday, considering BYU quarterback Taysom Hill threw for 181 yards and ran for 99, as well as three TDs.

Munch that clock
Virginia managed to limit UCLA to 13 drives, two fewer than the Cavs themselves, and held the Bruins to 25 minutes, 30 seconds in time of possession, a full nine minutes less than UVA. It visibly disrupted the Bruins' offensive rhythm, especially when compared to the Memphis game. UCLA got off 14 drives against the Tigers, but crammed five of those into the first quarter and a half, four of which ended in touchdowns. By the game's end, TOP was virtually equal.

London thought he'd run the ball more than he actually did (39 rushing attempts, which equaled UCLA). Unfortunately, the Bruins started to shut down that running game in the second half, so Virginia used short passes to spin the minute hand as well. Of Virginia's 45 passing plays, only a handful were downfield, opting instead for dinks and dunks. Part of the reasoning was to ease through some questions at quarterback, but a larger goal was at play (and will be again this weekend against Louisville).

"Your goal when you're facing a team that is as talented as they are offensively is that you control the clock," London said of UCLA. "On the short passes, after a tackle, that clock is running just like it is after a running play. You eat that clock up here and there and the goal is to get to that fourth quarter as quick as you can and have yourself in a position to win. We did that."

Like UVa taking its time transitioning to a permanent starter at QB, Texas is baby-stepping its way through this Tyrone Swoopes-for-David Ash period. So short passes aren't just a plan. They're a necessity. A necessity that might actually be a benefit.

I hope we pull it out...

The big is toast. Don't even worry about them

Also...DT malcolm brown is a bad,bad man

UCLA must be a pretender if theyre tied with Texsa. But Id rather see the XII win. sooo Dont take it up the arse, Bone. Give UCLA a run for its money.

I will laugh my ass off if Purdue beats the domers

Its not a boring game....its a higher scoring game than the sec game of the century

TD HORNS!!!!!

Is this kid related to rick neuhesil

Like the hustle. But dang

Swoopes is looking much better....not that he looked bad last week

And what heck is usc doing losing to bc

Damn....oh well they fought hard and showed marked improvement

Nice game Texas. Honestly was pulling for you guys