Five things we learned about UCLA in its win over Texas

Well, that was a wild game. UCLA barely escaped a Texas team that’s missing more key members than the Beatles, due to suspensions and injuries. The Bruins needed a fourth-quarter bomb from backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel to remain undefeated, winning 20-17.

Here are five things we learned in UCLA’s win over Texas:

1. At the very least, Neuheisel can manage a game.

Can the redshirt sophomore lead UCLA unscathed through conference play? Probably not. Can he match up with the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12, which also happen to be some of the best quarterbacks in the country? Doubtful.

What Neuheisel can do, at the very least, is manage this team to a win. It sounds simple, but we didn’t know that about the former coach’s son before this game. Heck, we didn’t even know that at halftime.

But after star quarterback Brett Hundley left the game in the first quarter with an apparent elbow injury, Neuheisel did just enough to keep the Bruins undefeated. He might not have been as flashy as Hundley, but he got the job done.

When Neuheisel first got into the game in the first half, UCLA’s offense consisted of running plays, short passes and more running plays. It wasn’t until the second half that we saw Neuheisel complete some significant throws, including the first touchdown pass of his career off of a beautiful play-action. The game-winning throw came with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. Neuheisel pump-faked and sent a rainbow down the sideline, right into the hands of Jordan Payton in front of the end zone.

His final stats were solid — 23 completions on 30 attempts, 178 yards and those two touchdowns. And who knows how long Hundley is out. After the game, Coach Jim Mora said that Hundley would have an MRI, but considering Hundley was initially evaluated as “probable” to head back into the game, his injury probably isn’t too serious.

At the same time, who would have ever thought it would be Jerry Neuheisel to be carried off the field on his teammate’s shoulders? He’s not going to win the Heisman, but he can win games under pressure, something I’m not sure even he knew before Saturday.

2. At the same time, UCLA doesn’t win this game without Paul Perkins.

Neuheisel admitted after the game that UCLA probably wouldn’t have won without the ground game, and he’s right. The Bruins rushed for 217 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry against a defense that knew the run was coming. Until the fourth quarter, it was either a run or a Neuheisel pass to the flat. The offensive game plan wasn’t complicated, and the Longhorns still couldn’t do anything about it.

On the ground, the star was Paul Perkins, who continues to crush the so called “running back by committee approach” Mora talked so much about in camp. The redshirt sophomore finished with 126 yards on the ground, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. It’s his first career game earning triple-digit yards on the ground.

He was also the Bruins’ leading pass-catcher, nabbing five catches for 69 yards. His 195 total yards was only one less than Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes passed for all game.

UCLA’s other main back, Jordon James, averaged almost 9 yards per carry but also fumbled the ball late in the fourth quarter to give Texas a chance to seal the game. The Bruin defense got a big stop, but if you’re a running back getting carries late in the game, the No. 1 rule is to hang onto the ball. Perkins did, and James didn’t.

Regardless of who is playing quarterback next week, Perkins deserves to keep earning more carries. His production has gone up every week, and it’s not easy to have a career day against a defense that knows what’s coming.

3. UCLA’s coaching staff needs to take Myles Jack out of offensive limbo

This might be an unpopular opinion, but keeping Jack in this offensive no-man’s land isn’t good for anybody. Earlier in the week, Hundley joked that he always has to tell Jack where to go on offense, and that Jack is essentially just improvising when he carries the ball.

Jack is good enough to where this can work at times. Needing a huge first-down conversion midway through the fourth quarter, he entered in the short yardage situation. Reading the middle was stuffed, Jack bounced outside and earned 9 yards.

But there were other times in the game where it looked like Hundley was spending an inordinate amount of time showing Jack what the play was. The other nine Bruins were ready and the backfield was not. These also weren’t in short-yardage situations, either, meaning that whatever tempo the Bruins were trying to build died very quickly.

Jack finished the night with five attempts, totaling 11 yards. Take out that long run, and he averaged a little more than 1e yard per carry.

Is this Jack’s fault? Absolutely not. It’s not realistic to expect him to know both playbooks. He gets practice reps as a linebacker, and throughout training camp, didn’t see the field on offense. Entering the game as a pure short-yardage back is simple enough, but if Jack is going to get more than a couple carries a night in anything other than a power formation, it’s the coaches’ responsibility to make sure he knows what’s going on.

4. The defensive secondary might be deeper than we think

Missing starting safety Randall Goforth was bad enough, but then the other safety, Anthony Jefferson, injured his ankle warming up for the game.

This was already a unit that struggled last week against Memphis, and while Texas was trotting out its own backup quarterback, Swoopes, he’s also a former top dual-threat recruit.

Thrust into the starting role, sophomore Tahaan Goodman and freshman Jaleel Wadood looked like they should have been earning more playing time all along. Texas passed for less than 200 yards. Wadood finished with nine tackles, the second-most on the team. Goodman played well in space and didn’t seem to give up much ground.

Goforth could be out for a while with a shoulder injury, and Jefferson had missed practice throughout the week before injuring his ankle. UCLA has a bye week before starting its Pac-12 season at Arizona State, which should help Jefferson get healthy. In a passing conference like this, though, there’s no such thing as too many quality defensive backs, especially the ones who earn their spot when given the chance.

5. Texas is a name and nothing else

Let’s not confuse this win as something grand. If Texas went by a different name, this win would feel entirely different.

Texas looked unorganized, undisciplined and sloppy. Confused on the play calls, the Longhorns burned through their timeouts. Instead of using a solid run game to burn the clock up with four minutes to play in the game, Texas continued its hurry-up offense and took less than a minute off the clock. A booming punt left UCLA returner Ishmael Adams free to scamper down the sideline, and the Bruins scored their winning touchdown the next play. It was like first-year Coach Charlie Strong didn’t realize that staying away from the hurry-up was an option.

The Longhorns also tallied seven penalties for 50 yards.

The most egregious slip-up came before the game even started. UCLA deferred the coin flip, but one of the Texas captains chose to kick. This not only gave the Bruins the ball to start the game, but also the second half. I mean, that’s basic video game stuff. Anyone who has ever played Madden can tell you that rule.

So while it’s a good win on the road, especially considering it wasn’t Hundley who got the win, it’s not a season-making victory by any stretch. It was important, but it won’t be anywhere near as important than any of the conference matchups that are coming up soon.

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook