Know Your Opponent: UCLA vs Texas

Here are some Texas tidbits to prepare Bruin fans for the UCLA vs Texas game this Satuday at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas:

The UCLA Bruins and Texas Longhorns have tangled 6 times

, and each team has one 3. The Longhorns beat the Bruins twice in a 1970 and 1971 series.

Cade McNown

‘s Bruins evened the score in 1997 and 1998 by winning two games. The teams split the most recent series, with the Bruins winning in Texas in 2010 and the Longhorns getting revenge at the Rose Bowl in 2011.

BEVO the 1st

Do you know the story of Bevo? – College football is rich with traditions and often the origins of those traditions are veiled in mystery and conjecture. Anyone who has ever watched a Texas game has seen Bevo the magestic longhorn steer on the sidelines, but have you ever wondered how Bevo got his name(O)? If you listen to arch-rival Texas A&M fans, a few months after the longhorn was first donated to the school in November of 1916, Aggie fans snuck into the steer’s enclosure and branded the beast’s side 13-0 to commemorate the 1915 shut out victory by A&M. The story goes that UT supporters attempted to save face by rebranding the 13-0 on the animal to say “BEVO”. However, according to the University of Texas, the animal had already been named Bevo long before the prank ever occurred. The editor of Texas Exes Alcade Magazine first coined the name Bevo in a story about the animal’s donation that was published in December of 1916. No one knows exactly why he came up with Bevo as a name, but the theory is that he took the word “beeve” (which is the plural for beef) and just slapped an “O” on the end of it (a practice that was popular at the time, as in Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx).

If you’re heading to Texas for the game this Saturday, don’t forget to enjoy a Dr Pepper which originated in Waco, Tx in 1885. If you make it to the Dublin Dr Pepper outside of Waco (if you end up there, you’ve done something wrong) you can enjoy a Dr Pepper made from pure cane sugar.

What about the Game?

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Few teams are struggling like the 2014 Texas Longhorns. Head Coach Charlie Strong, in his 1st year after taking over for beloved former Coach Mack Brown, is attempting to improve discipline and accountability in a program that had gotten a little loose in the previous years (sound familiar Bruin fans?). In his short time with the program, Strong has already dismissed or suspended 11 players including the two offensive tackles that started against North Texas in 2014 (if you’re a Texas fan, you hope the transition is more Neuheisel to Mora than it is Toledo to Dorrell). In addition, the Longhorns have already been decimated by injuries, losing starting QB David Ash and Center Dominic Espinosa among others before the season really even got going. The Longhorns have now also probably lost WR Jaxon Shipley for the UCLA game due to a head injury suffered against BYU.

Sep 6, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) passes the ball against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

“… expect to see the Texas coaches increase the degree of difficulty in Swoopes’ playbook… “

These factors have crippled the Longhorn offense so far in 2014. In two games against North Texas and BYU, Texas is just 7/30 on third down opportunities and has been unable to break the 200 yard passing barrier. The UT offense has already committed 6 turnovers on the year and was held to 82 yards rushing against BYU. The Longhorns never really gave themselves a chance against BYU, as new QB Tyrone Swoopes was understandably not asked to take many risks or try to push the ball downfield. The good news for Texas, is that it can’t get much worse can it? Expect to see the Texas coaches increase the degree of difficulty in Swoopes’ playbook and try to take advantage of the playmakers that the Longhorns have remaining. WR John Harris (#9) has started the season with back to back 100 yard games, and RB Malcolm Brown (#28) is a senior who has averaged over 4 YPC in his UT career. The question will be if Swoopes can show improvement against a UCLA defense that is also trying to bounce back after a lackluster performance against the Memphis Tigers.

The Texas defense has also been affected by the suspensions and injuries, but they are still a strong and solid unit. Although the defense melted down in the 3rd quarter against BYU after being stranded on the field by the offense, the Longhorns held BYU to 6 points in the 1st half and they were able to pressure or sack BYU QB Taysom Hill numerous times. The Texas defense failure on Saturday was as much about them being abandoned by their own offense as it was about anything else. BYU possessed the ball for 10 minutes more than UT, and in the decisive 3rd quarter, BYU possessed the ball for 8 and 1/2 minutes of the first 10 minutes of the quarter. By the time the UT offense was able to sustain a drive, the score was 34-0.

Apr 19, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive tackles Malcolm Brown (90) and Desmond Jackson (99) and defensive end Cedric Reed (88) react during the Spring Game at Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

“… The Bruins offensive rhythm will likely hinge on their solution for DL Malcolm Brown … “

If Swoopes and the Longhorn offense can just manage to possess the ball, the Longhorn defense should pose a challenge for Brett Hundley and his merry band of Bruins. Texas DL Malcolm Brown (#90) is “a man amongst boys” according to Texas DC Vance Bedford (yes there are 2 Malcolm Brown’s starting for UT, so pay attention). The Bruins offensive rhythm will likely hinge on their solution for Brown, especially in light of the UCLA offensive line’s recent struggles with the inside blitz and defensive line twists. If UCLA can protect Hundley and establish a running game, the Bruins will have opportunities to exploit the Texas secondary.

Final Thoughts

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The Bruins need to make a statement when they take the field against the Texas Longhorns this Saturday night. After failing to impress against Virginia (struggling to a 28-20 win on ESPN) and then allowing way too many points to Memphis (as good as untelevised on the PAC 12 Network), UCLA has one more out of conference chance to impress the national media.

From inside the locker room, all the UCLA football team should be concerned with is putting together a solid game on both sides of the ball for the first time in 2014. Against Virginia the Bruin offense was held to 7 points and struggled against a nice looking ACC defense. We should find out if the offensive improvement against Memphis was real or a mirage when UCLA takes the field against an aggressive BIG-12 Texas defense.

The Bruins had their way with the Memphis defense last week, but the surprise was the struggle that UCLA had on the defensive side of the ball. The Bruins missed 8 tackles in the first half and gave up 300 yards of offense leading to 21 points. The defense was a little stingier in the second half, but the final score (in a game that the east coast only checked the box score on) was 42-35. This week against the Longhorns, the Bruins need to show that they can put a complete game together. Few offenses have struggled more than Texas this year, but the Bruins cannot afford to underestimate Swoopes and the remaining Longhorn playmakers. On the other side of the ball, if the Bruin defenders are not motivated to perform this week given the national stage and the struggles from last week, then nothing is likely to get them going.

Prediction

The Bruins (finally) impress with an all around effort under the big screen at the “Jerry-Dome”.

UCLA 45 Texas 6