UCLA vs. Texas Complete Game Preview

When: Saturday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m. ET

Where: AT&T Stadium; Arlington, Texas

TV: Fox

No. 12 UCLA vs. Texas has taken on a new look since the preseason, when pundits such as NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread ranked it one of the top nonconference games of the 2014 campaign.

UCLA invades the Lone Star State Saturday with a 2-0 record but has struggled in each of its first two wins.

Meanwhile, Texas limps into AT&T Stadium shorthanded and trying to avoid a sub-.500 start for the second time in as many seasons. The Longhorns were blasted by Brigham Young in Week 2, 41-7.

As Chuck Carlton of The Dallas Morning News notes, the 34-point margin of defeat was the most any Texas team has lost at home by since 1997, when the Longhorns sustained a 66-3 thrashing. Coincidentally, that loss came against UCLA.

Seventeen years after the infamous “Rout 66,” both the Bruins and Longhorns aim to inject life back into their seasons before each embarks on conference play. This is the last tuneup UCLA gets in preparation for the Pac-12 Conference slate, while Texas begins its Big 12 schedule.

Keys to Victory for UCLA

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Put Together a Complete Game

UCLA’s defense was stellar in Week 1 at Virginia, scoring three touchdowns. The offense struggled against the Cavaliers, however, reaching the end zone just once.

The script was flipped in a 42-35 defeat of Memphis in Week 2. The UCLA offense fired on all cylinders but seemed to have no answer for the Tigers on the other end.

In his postgame press conference Saturday, head coach Jim Mora credited Memphis for running an “unorthodox” scheme that threw the Bruins for a loop, via UCLABruins.com.

The defense can regroup against a Texas offense that was hapless in Week 2.

Play Without Pressure

Following Saturday’s win over Memphis, Mora dismissed the notion of outside expectations affecting the Bruins’ performance through two weeks.

“We appreciate everyone’s expectations, but they are others' expectations,” Mora said, per UCLABruins.com “Honestly, while I respect it, it doesn’t matter to us. We have our own standards.”

As far as those standards go, UCLA is performing where it matters most with a perfect win-loss record.

But the Bruins have looked out of sorts in their first two outings, failing to duplicate the all-around impressive performances with which they ended 2013.

The Bruins opened the season ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25 poll and receiving national championship nods from analysts like Fox Sports’ Tim Brando, who tweeted that UCLA was his No. 1. Now that the intensity of the spotlight is starting to fade, UCLA can go back to the looser style of play it rode to 10 wins a season ago.

Keys to Victory for Texas

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Keep the Pressure on UCLA

Texas faces its own pressure entering Week 3. The Week 2 dud against BYU has the Longhorns in desperate need of some positive momentum heading into the Big 12 season.

Pressuring UCLA is a two-pronged plan of attack. The first is taking advantage of any potential jitters UCLA may feel after two straight close calls.

Texas must come out with a torrid start in order to rattle UCLA. The more the Bruins press, the more susceptible to mistakes they can be on both sides of the ball.

The second part of applying the pressure is quite literally bringing as much pressure on quarterback Brett Hundley as possible. Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford should bring a heavy dose of the blitz UCLA’s way early and often.

Find an Offensive Rhythm Early

The wheels did not come off for Texas until the third quarter of its loss to BYU. In fact, the Longhorns defense surrendered just two field goals before intermission.

However, the offense’s inability to muster any kind of attack haunted Texas when BYU erupted for 28 third-quarter points.

Contributing to Texas’ offensive anemia was going a dismal 3-of-15 on third-down conversion attempts. The Longhorns cannot afford a similar such showing Saturday.

Texas also must hold onto possession. The Longhorns gave away four turnovers to the Cougars, which they converted into 17 points.

UCLA Players to Watch

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Offense

QB Brett Hundley

UCLA’s preseason Heisman Trophy candidate Brett Hundley responded to an average Week 1 performance with a big Week 2: 33-of-44 passing, 396 yards and three touchdowns.

Conversely, Texas could not contain BYU’s dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill last week, surrendering 99 yards to him on the ground.

Mora said at Pac-12 media days that Hundley is a passer first, but the quarterback can take to the ground when the defense presents the opportunity.

Hundley used his legs to get the offense moving in the second half against Virginia. Look for him to do so from the outset this week against Texas.

WR Thomas Duarte

Sophomore Thomas Duarte is fast establishing himself as the X-factor the Bruins’ passing attack needs. He was a reliable, intermediate target for Hundley in Week 1, hauling in three passes for 39 yards.

However, against Memphis, Duarte showed off his big-play ability with four receptions for 110 yards, including two touchdowns. His second was the game-winner, a 33-yard strike from Hundley.

“That was probably the most calm that everybody has ever been. We live for situations like that where the game is on the line and we need to come up with a play,” Duarte told Abbey Mastracco of FoxSports.com.

Defense

DE Owamagbe Odighizuwa

Owamagbe Odighizuwa was one of UCLA’s sack leaders in 2012, the last season in which the defensive end saw action. He has yet to record a sack in 2014, and UCLA has just one as a team. It came in the waning moment Saturday against Memphis.

As one of the Bruins’ defensive captains, Odighizuwa sets a tone for the entire front seven. Against Texas, he can help open the flood gates for a defense that needs to apply more pressure to opposing quarterbacks in order to be successful.

The Texas offensive line has surrendered five sacks thus far in 2014, so this Saturday could be Odighizuwa’s opportunity to tee off.  

Texas Players to Watch

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Offense

QB Tyrone Swoopes

It’s sophomore Tyrone Swoopes’ offense for the foreseeable future, as veteran Texas quarterback David Ash is out indefinitely, head coach Charlie Strong announced in his Monday press conference, via TexasSports.com.

Ash was sidelined with a concussion, sustained in the Longhorns’ Week 1 rout of North Texas.

Swoopes must shake off a rough start against BYU—particularly because UCLA could sell out on the run to test the quarterback’s arm.  

Offensive Line and Running Backs

Strong suspended offensive tackles Kennedy Estelle and Desmond Harrison before Saturday’s game, adding to the Longhorns’ rushing anemia and inability to protect Swoopes. The quarterback took three sacks in the loss.

Strong said Monday in his press conference that there is “no timetable” for either to return. That means Texas heads into Saturday’s matchup with the same lingering question marks it faced before the BYU contest.

Finding a way to invigorate the run game with a restructured offensive line is crucial.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has employed a two-man backfield through the Longhorns’ initial outings. Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown have split 57 carries and combined for 222 yards.

They each had 14 carries against BYU, but neither could get anything going. The Longhorns’ lack of a passing game allowed BYU to stack the box and key in on the run. Gray and Brown may have to find their yards in unconventional ways if Texas is to establish a consistent ground attack.

Memphis scrounged for rushing yards on shovel passes and assorted other misdirection-style plays. The Tigers’ 164 yards on the ground against UCLA doubled Texas’ output of 82 against BYU.

Defense

DT Malcom Brown

Malcom Brown presents UCLA with a potential matchup nightmare. At 6’4”, 305 pounds, Brown is a space-eater in the middle of the Texas defensive line.

But Brown doesn’t simply draw blocks in order to free up other pass-rushers: He has a team-high three sacks on the season, all of which came against BYU. Trey Scott of 247Sports wrote that Brown’s performance was the Longhorns’ silver lining.

What They're Saying

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UCLA 

“I’ll tell you again, there’s no satisfaction yet in the way that we are playing,” Mora said following the Memphis win, via UCLABruins.com.

"As a quarterback, stuff happens. You've just got to come back, take your team right down the field and score a touchdown," Hundley commented on shaking off miscues, via Mastracco.

Texas

“UCLA, when you think about their quarterback, he’s a Heisman candidate. It’s going to be a big task for us and just how we bounce back from this loss,” Strong said regarding the challenge of facing Hundley and UCLA, via TexasSports.com.

Here's Malcom Brown on regrouping in time to face the Bruins, via TexasSports.com:  

"

It's real frustrating but you can't really do anything about it. The game's over and we've got to focus on UCLA now. ...

Like Coach Bedford always tells us, "Another opportunity." Go out and play. You can't get down, you've got a whole game to finish, it's on us.

"

Prediction

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UCLA has shown it can play defense. It's also shown it can play offense. The Bruins just need to do both in the same game, and they should be fine. 

This week's matchup is a prime opportunity—and not a moment too soon, with a showdown against reigning Pac-12 South champion Arizona State looming.

The key for UCLA is protecting Hundley. Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone's answer against Virginia was using Hundley in more designed runs.

After Hill's success running on Texas in the second half last week, don't be surprised if Hundley goes to the ground early. That should then draw the Texas defense in and open the field for receiving threats Jordan Payton and Duarte. 

The UCLA defense will then continue Texas' offensive woes, finally delivering the kind of all-around performance the team lacked in its first two outings. 

Prediction: UCLA 35, Texas 21

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise cited. Statistics compiled via CFBstats.com.