Instanalysis – Game 3

FINAL SCORE: UCLA 20 – Texas 17

 

First half Texas 10 – UCLA 3

 

Second half UCLA 17 – Texas 7

 

 

 

1st Half:

 

Two major negative plays (facemask penalty and a sack by Brown) stalled UCLA on their opening drive and allowed the Texas defense to settle in (and get off the field).

 

 

 

Easy short passes and a couple of first downs on their opening drive helps Texas flip the field early. That is effective offense for this team.

 

 

 

Offsetting penalties and a sack by Hasaan Ridgeway helped hold UCLA to a field goal on their 2^nd drive. They are racking up yards and TOP here in the 1^st quarter.

 

 

 

Watson making the obvious effort to involve Shipley early. That’s good for production and good for leadership.

 

 

 

UCLA had the football for 9:54 in Q1. That’s not good for 2^nd half prospects.

 

 

 

Malcolm Brown secures the ball with his off-hand on his long run at the beginning of the 2^nd quarter. That looks like somebody that practiced ball security all week.

 

 

 

Nick Rose makes his first attempt this week. Let’s see if it affects the team’s confidence.

 

 

 

Scoring drive was 4:58 and ended with a field goal. That’s 2/2 successful drives in the game.

 

 

 

After Neuheisel correctly ID’s a blitz on 3^rd down (with a screen), Strong and Bedford line up 7 defenders along the LOS to confuse him on the next 3^rd down. That results in yet another sack for the Horns.

 

 

 

Swoopes really showcasing his arm strength in the 2^nd quarter. 3 completions on rollouts and 2 incompletions (Gray and Shipley) where he needed to back it down a bit.

 

 

 

The 2^nd quarter TD drive was an excellent mix of playmaking and playcalling.

 

 

 

Call the first half the battle of the backup QB’s. Both teams should be pleased, but the edge goes to Swoopes – he’s 13/15 for 123 yards and a TD.

 

 

 

Jordan Hicks has 6 tackles. Jaxon Shipley has 6 catches. Seniors stepping up after team leadership was questioned all week.

 

 

 

2nd half:

 

Big run for UCLA leads a TD drive to open the 2^nd half, but don’t be upset about missed tackles. Be upset about a coin toss gone bad.

 

 

 

UCLA d-ends stayed home throughout the first half, but in the 3^rd quarter they crash to the RB once and Swoopes pulls it for a 7-yard gain. Interesting adjustment to watch.

 

 

 

Texas offense stalling early in the 3Q, but the playcalls are designed to keep the Bruins honest. Swoopes is rolling to his left (instead of right) and RB screens that will slow the pressure (but UCLA’s defense is too fast for).

 

 

 

UCLA does an excellent job of mixing inside runs and hitting the perimeter. Really keeping Texas guessing.

 

 

 

Will Russ has been excellent through 3 quarters. Punting isn’t sexy, but this team thrives on field position.

 

 

 

UCLA’s o-line starting to open holes and get a good push at the end of the third/beginning of the fourth quarter. The Texas defense looks like they’re fatiguing.

 

 

 

4^th & 1 call to Myles Jack is aggressive & he makes it count with a great individual effort.

 

 

 

But UCLA got greedy and went back to Jack on 3^rd down inside the Texas 10-yard line. The Longhorns were ready the 2^nd time.

 

 

 

The response by the offense after UCLA took the lead was impressive. Not just for the points, but for the time of possession, playcalling, and execution too.

 

 

 

On Twitter, I commented that this game would come down to a turnover. I’m pretty shocked that fumble wasn’t it.

 

 

 

The 45-yard return by Ishmael Adams was the backbreaker.

 

 

 

Three takeaways

 

Missed tackles in the 2nd half ended up costing Texas the game.

 

 

 

Edmond, Hicks & Shipley – 3 seniors – played a great game. Their leadership, after the Texas coaches questioned the team all week, was the difference tonight.

 

 

 

In the 2^nd half, the difference in team depth between UCLA and Texas was apparent.

 

 

 

Notable Stat’s

 

The scoring drive that broke the 10-10 tie was 16-plays long. UCLA also had a 15-play drive.

 

 

 

Swoopes was 24-34 for a .706 completion percentage. Neuheisel was even better at .767.

 

 

 

3 sacks and 10 more TFL’s – the Texas defense made their negative plays tonight.

 

 

 

UCLA was 2/2 on 4^th downs and 6/17 on 3^rd downs. The Texas defense needs to do a better job at getting off the field when they get a chance.

 

 

 

Paul Perkins had 195 total yards. He was a difference maker for UCLA.

 

 

 

On Swoopes’ two TD drives, he was 11/13 for 104 yards. That’s getting it done.

 

 

 

Choice Quotes

 

Charlie Strong “You can’t miss tackles. We missed a lot of them.”

 

 

 

Charlie Strong (on the coin toss) “You know, I think what happened, one of our guys got nervous.”

 

 

 

Charlie Strong “Well, last week, it just wasn’t our football team. And today was just an indication of how well we just go out and play as a team and stay focused and prepared….just how well we can play.”

 

 

 

Vance Bedford “We gave up two big plays in the second half and that’s the game. That’s 14 points. That’s the difference in the ballgame.”

 

 

 

Quandre Diggs on if he was happy with the effort “That doesn’t mean anything. We lost. You play with all the fight and lose; what’s the point of coming out here and fighting? What’s the point of going to practice? All that ‘fight’ – that stuff is for the birds.”

 

 

 

Jim Mora, Jr. “We just felt like this was an opportunity for us to put all the work we’ve done over the course of the last year or three years on display and really prove it to ourselves, beyond anyone else, what this team is made of. And I think we went out and did that.”

 

 

 

Jerry Neuheisel “Well, the game plan pretty much stayed the same. We kept sticking with the run but that was because we were getting so many yards. Four or five yards a run for the game, its kinda like a body shot when you are a boxer.”