Tyrone Swoopes Silver Lining in Horns' Missed Opportunity vs. UCLA

Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes put the Longhorns in a prime position to upset No. 12 UCLA Saturday night. 

The sophomore quarterback led the team on a 10 play, 80-yard drive for a touchdown to take a 17-13 lead with little more than five minutes left of the game clock.

The defense then seemed to have sealed the deal after forcing a fumble and giving the offense the ball just a minute later.

But questionable play-calling and a no-huddle offense in the final minutes caused the Longhorns to go three-and-out, which ultimately cost the team from upsetting the Bruins.

Texas will enter conference play with a losing record for a second consecutive season, but Saturday night's loss was not all bad.

In fact, the Longhorns showed it was not going to lie down after the embarrassing the loss to BYU in Week 2.

One of the brighter moments against the Bruins came from Swoopes.

In only his second career start, Swoopes managed the game plan in superb fashion, and he did not give up any turnovers to the Bruins.

He completed 24-of-34 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the 20-17 loss.

"I felt a lot more comfortable. I played last week and with that I built confidence," Swoopes said. "I thought I played well, but at the end, it is not about me. We still didn't win, so we have to build confidence off this and try to get the win next time."

The quarterback has two weeks to build his confidence, which will also help the offense throw more of the playbook in his direction.

Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson has been conservative in his play-calling with Swoopes under center. But it's not because he doesn't have faith in the young quarterback, rather because Swoopes has not had enough time to learn the entire playbook in such a short period.

And the lack of veteran offensive linemen around him has made the coach hold back from throwing everything at him. Watson commented:

"

Ty is really moving a lot faster than I thought. He's playing very confident football right now. We just need to get all the tools around him. I like that our receivers are starting to come around with him. I like what's happening with that aspect of our game. Once we can get back at full speed, it will be interesting to see how far he can go because I think he's really an exceptional player.

"

The Longhorns have yet to test Swoopes' arm strength and ability to throw the deep ball.

But having a bye week could be exactly what the team needs.

The Longhorns still have two suspended offensive linemen in Kennedy Estelle and Desmond Harrison. If the team can get those guys back in the mix, it could give the young quarterback the protection he needs to throw down the field.

Texas fans will have to wait until Sept. 27 to see if Swoopes can continue his growth against conference opponents, but his performance Saturday night was a step in the right direction.

All quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.