UCLA falls under a Longhorn stampede, 49-20

As UCLA fans slowly shuffled out of the Rose Bowl well before the final gun Saturday afternoon, walking away from what was an old-fashioned Texas barbecue, they had plenty of food for thought.

The toughest thing to chew on following Texas’ 49-20 victory was that UCLA had given up more points in the Rose Bowl only twice.

USC scored 52 in 2002.

Caltech scored 59 in 1923.

The Longhorns made themselves at home in Pasadena — even bringing Bevo west for the occasion —and took the Bruins by the horns, rolling up 488 total yards.

The how-come brought pat answers.

“We were in position to make plays,” Coach Rick Neuheisel said.

First-year coordinator Joe Tresey still liked his defense, saying, “The fourth quarter, we kept fighting.”

But safety Tony Dye, a team captain, said it all by not saying anything. “I’m not talking right now,” he said.

Dye’s reaction, unusual for a player who has been point man for the team, was right on point. What was there to say?

Sure, the Bruins’ offense made mistakes.

•Quarterback Kevin Prince, playing for the first time since injuring his right shoulder in the opener, gave the Longhorns a big howdy of a welcome by having three of his first seven passes intercepted. Texas bolted to a 21-0 lead.

•The Bruins appeared confused on a key third-and-one play while trailing 7-0 in the first quarter — wasting a timeout so they could get in the right formation, only to be called for having 12 men on the field.

•Tight end Joseph Fauria fumbled after making a catch that would have given UCLA a first down at the Texas six-yard line.

But the running theme was the defense, which the Longhorns had no trouble running on.

“I don’t want to say toughness and I don’t think anyone on our team is scared,” defensive end Datone Jones said. “Sometimes guys get over-excited and try to make plays and come up short.”

Texas gained 284 yards rushing — payback for the Bruins’ rambling for 264 in a 34-12 victory at Austin a year ago.

“We have faith in these guys,” Tresey said. “I may be the laughingstock of L.A. I don’t care, these kids, they are going to fight.”

But Tresey also said, “We did not play as physical as we wanted to play.”

Texas freshman Malcolm Brown gained 110 yards rushing. That included a 16-yard touchdown run on which he ran out of his shoe as he carried Dye into the end zone. Fozzy Whittaker scored two touchdowns, one a 36-yard gallop on which the closest Bruins in uniform to him were UCLA cheerleaders.

“We need to find out exactly what’s missing and keeping us from being a stout run defense,” Neuheisel said.

Tackling, an issue since the season began, would be a good starting point.

Linebacker Sean Westgate said the Texas offensive line did a good job “finishing their blocks,” and there were “wrinkles to their schemes that caught us off guard.”

His bottom-line assessment, though, was, “Tackling is tackling. When you miss a tackle, that’s a personal thing.”

No play drove that point home better than the “Where’s Waldo” search UCLA’s defense did as Texas quarterback Case McCoy wandered around late in the first half.

McCoy ran left, then right, sidestepping three UCLA players, before completing a 25-yard pass to Mike Davis. A play later, McCoy tossed a two-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Grant.

Texas led, 28-10, at halftime.

McCoy, a sophomore making his first start, threw for 168 yards, 45 coming when UCLA cornerback Sheldon Price tipped the ball to Davis in the third quarter. Wide receiver Jaxon Shipley flipped a five-yard reverse pass to Grant on the next play for a 35-13 lead.

Still, Tresey said, “I saw in the eyes, nobody was going in the tank. Come hell or high water, I’m convinced that we’re going to be a very good defense.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

twitter.com/cfosterlatimes