Texas vs UCLA: Over/Under, Spread, Predictions and TV Info

Texas decided to go in a whole new direction last week against BYU and benched Garrett Gilbert, the QB who led them to a miserable season last year.

Against UCLA, they are going to start Case McCoy, brother of NFL QB Colt, and possibly have David Ash handle a few snaps as well.

It worked well for them in the BYU game and Case led the team on their game winning drive to keep them in the Top 25 polls and bowl contention.

Can they pull out a solid road win against an underrated Pac-12 opponent?

UCLA has had a tough going to their early season, but they should still provide a challenge for Texas. Coach Rick Neuheisel has confidence in his squad and feels that his kids can get the job done.

"It's a marquee program," Neuheisel said of Texas. "And because of the perception of our program, to come out and play a great game against a marquee program and to find a way to win it will put at ease those folks who are concerned about where we are."

For the sake of his job, Neuheisel’s program had better pull out the win.

Keep reading to find out more about this Pac-12/Big-12 showdown

Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA.

When: 3:30 p.m. EST, Sept. 17, 2011

Watch: ABC/ESPN/ESPN3

Spread: Texas (-4)

Texas has everything to lose while UCLA dropped their opener against Houston. They also have positive momentum going into this game after the huge comeback victory against BYU with their young QBs.

UCLA came into Texas last year and whooped them, so they have that to motivate them as well. The Bruins could barely beat San Jose State this year, so this is an obvious play.

Lay the points and take Texas -4. 

Over/Under: 44

This is going over, just as it did last year.

They set it at 43.5 and the final score was 34-12 in UCLA’s favor.

I see a similar score this year, with Texas winning by a large margin and UCLA tacking on some garbage late points to cover the over.

Texas Key Injuries

S Christian Scott—OUT (suspended)—Scott is still serving out his three-game suspension and is ineligible to play.

MLB Chet Moss—QUESTIONABLE (back)—This true freshman is the backup middle linebacker but has not seen any action so far this season.

UCLA Key Injuries
K Kip Smith—PROBABLE (hip)—The starting kicker had to leave practice with a hip flexor and may not be ready to go. Having an injury to your first string kicker is never good.

RB Damien Thigpen—DOUBTFUL (hamstring)—This kid is supposed to contribute heavily from the backfield and on kick returns. If he cannot go due to his hammy, the Bruins will struggle.

BCS/Top 25 Poll Implications

The Bruins aren’t making any Top 25 noise this season, but they could play spoiler to a Cinderella Texas Longhorns campaign.

The Longhorns were not ranked to start the season, but are slowly climbing up the polls. They need to win against a weak UCLA team to have any credibility for consideration in a serious Bowl.

Keys to Texas Win

Case McCoy is the key to the Texas offense and a win. He went seven for eight last week against BYU for 57 yards and led a game winning drive. He is apparently a spark plug to that offense as well, as receiver Jaxon Shipley told ESPN.

"When Case came in, he played a real leadership role for us," Shipley said. "He immediately came into the huddle and was pumping us up and telling us to trust him, and that he was going to lead us down and deliver a victory. I think there was just a lot of energy he brought in."

This is a good sign for the Longhorns and it looks like they found the leader they need under center.

Keys to UCLA Win

If UCLA can get a win, they are going to need to find a weakness in the new Texas quarterback's armor. McCoy looked brilliant last week, and if he struggles, David Ash looked good as well.

They will be helped by Kevin Prince and Glenn Love returning from injury and having a very solid game from the two of them should help their chances.

Prediction

Texas 34, UCLA 12