What the UCLA Football Win Against Texas Longhorns Means For Rick Neuheisel, Bruins

When reviewing the game between the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns and the previously-hapless UCLA Bruins in Austin this past Saturday, one phrase comes to mind for both fan bases.

Shock and awe.

For Mack Brown and the Orange-Bloods, it's the shock of getting demolished at home, in this case by the Bruins, thanks to such an awful performance put on by a team that was playing in the Rose Bowl less than eight months ago.

To be fair, the current crop of 'Horns is without the likes of Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Earl Thomas and Sergio Kindle—stellar stalwarts who stuck around long enough to lose to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game and bounce to the NFL.

For Rick Neuheisel and the Blue and Gold, it's all about the shock of leaving the Lone Star state with a win, and the awe of doing so in such a convincing fashion.

Especially with the team only two weeks removed from its 35-0 debacle at home against Stanford.

So, with the Texas Two-Step complete and back-to-back wins against ranked opponents in the bag, what can be said about Neuheisel and the Bruins going forward?

In short, quite a bit.

Positives

After such a huge victory, there would seem to be more good than bad to say about the Bruins.

Most brilliant among the residual bright spots is UCLA's play on the ground.

Offensively, the Bruins ran the Pistol offense to near perfection, piling up 264 yards while rotating in the burly Derrick Coleman, the blurry Jonathan Franklin and the flurry Malcolm Jones.

Norm Chow combined crisply-executed schemes and a steady variety of running styles in the backfield to keep Will Muschamp and the Longhorns' vaunted defense off-balance all day.

On the flip side, the Bruins' front seven, previously victimized by Kansas State and Stanford, limited Texas to 85-yards on the ground and twice bypassed the 'Horns offensive line to sack sophomore quarterback Garrett Gilbert.

As always, Akeem Ayers led the charge, accumulating seven tackles, a forced fumble, a sack and an interception while flying all over the field at Darrell Royal Stadium.

In general, the defense did a much better job of wrapping up and tackling in Austin, especially on third and fourth downs to get the ball back to the offense.

On special teams, the coaching staff finally gave Josh Smith, the explosive transfer from Colorado, a shot at returning punts, and he delivered quite nicely on a 45-yard scamper in the second half to set up another drive for the Bruins.

Negatives

Of course, it wasn't all high-fives and atta-boys for the Bruins.

The aerial attack left much to be desired, with Kevin Prince attempting only eight passes and absorbing four sacks while giving up a fumble.

Whether Prince is holding onto the ball too long or the offensive line just isn't giving him enough time, there's still much work to be done to shore up UCLA's pocket situation.

The Bruins' defensive backfield also had some issues, allowing Gilbert to toss for 264 yards and a touchdown and leaving the Texas receivers room to roam.

And while it's tough to wag too many fingers at the special teams unit, Kai Forbath missed an early 49-yard field that would have gotten UCLA off to an even better start.

Overall

As giddy as football fans in Westwood are right now, it's important that everyone be careful not to expect too much too soon from this young Bruins ball club.

Sure, the team has looked great the last two weeks against ranked opponents, but Neuheisel and company have also shown just how bad they can be, as the K-State Wildcats and the Stanford Cardinal know so well.

That being said, UCLA has evidently come a long way since the beginning of the season.

The defense did well to confuse and confound an already-discombobulated Texas attack, forcing five turnovers and twice stopping the Longhorns on fourth down.

The offense didn't do much to capitalize on the defense's production, struggling to move the ball in the first half before putting together some solid drives in the second half.

It's clear so far that the patchwork O-line is much better at run-blocking than pass protection and will have to improve if the Bruins have any hope of making hay in the Pac-10.

Because, frankly, Texas was highly overrated and may still be even though the Longhorns have dropped to 21st in the latest AP Poll. Not to take too much away from the Bruins, but they dominated a very vulnerable seventh-ranked team and did so in a fashion that wasn't always particularly impressive.

So, the UCLA football team can bask in the glow of its two big victories for a bit, but it'll be back to the conference grind on Monday in preparation for a date with Washington State at the Rose Bowl.

The shock of two bad losses and the awe of two capital W's in the past, and the prospect of eight Pac-10 dates yet to be contested.