Can UCLA beat Texas and capitalize on the win?

The Rick Neuheisel era started with a bang. Game One: UCLA 27, Tennessee 24.

The Bruins handled the 18th-ranked Volunteers in front of a national television audience at the Rose Bowl in 2008. After, the new coach took bows, pumping his fist and waving a towel, then regaled fans with a relentlessly positive speech.

Fast forward to last Saturday, when Neuheisel passed on his post-game address to fans after an unspectacular 27-17 victory over San Jose State, ending a three-year tradition.

What was there to say?

The road to football recovery has been peppered with opportunities for UCLA. Tennessee was the first. Texas, Saturday at the Rose Bowl, is the latest.

The Longhorns come to town 2-0 and ranked 23rd in the Associated Press poll. The Bruins are 1-1. It seems a watershed moment for a UCLA program that has a 16-23 record since Neuheisel took over as coach.

Yet, the Bruins have been here before.

In 2009, UCLA went deep into Southeastern Conference country and beat Tennessee. A year ago, the Bruins tramped into Austin and manhandled seventh-ranked Texas. Neither victory propelled the Bruins to the front of the college football class.

“To be honest, we just want a W right now,” safety Tony Dye said this week. “We want wins.”

These programs intersected a year ago, and neither seemed better off for it by season’s end.

UCLA got what at the time seemed like a resume-boosting victory, but finished 4-8. Texas tumbled as well, finishing 5-7. It was the Longhorns’ first losing season since 1998, and their fall from college football grace downgraded UCLA’s victory from great to good.

“I wanted them to go undefeated the rest of the season,” cornerback Aaron Hester said. “It would justify our win even more. That’s all right; it’s a new year.”

And the Bruins have the same nagging question: Can they beat quality teams?

UCLA has a 2-19 record against teams that finished the season above .500 since Neuheisel took over the program. The Bruins are 3-8 against teams that were ranked at the time of the game. The three ranked teams they beat — Tennessee in 2008, Texas and Houston in 2010 — finished those seasons with losing records.

“You can’t worry about that,” Neuheisel said.

“The bottom line is that is out of my control. All I can do is try to get my team as ready as can be to play their best. If they play their best and we’re successful, that will be terrific. If we play our best and are unsuccessful, we have to pick it up and go on to next week and see if we can get even better.”

Athletic Director Dan Guerrero has always expected better.

After firing Bob Toledo as UCLA’s football coach after the 2002 season, Guerrero said: “We need to raise the bar and start winning Pacific 10 [Conference] championships again.”

After firing Karl Dorrell, Toledo’s replacement, Guerrero said UCLA needed to “build this program into a consistent winner, a program that would be in the national discussion on a regular basis.”

This summer, Guerrero said: “The expectation is to improve, win football games and eventually compete for championships.”

Neuheisel agrees. After the spring game, back when he was talking to Bruins crowds, he told them: “There can only be one first-time Pac-12 champion, and it might as well be the Bruins.”

Texas would be a good start. The Longhorns are not a Pac-12 team — yet.

“When you beat a storied program like Texas, it creates a positive attitude,” Dye said.

“What we didn’t do a year ago is use the victory as a jump start to our season. We have the opportunity again this year. If we do win, we will take advantage of it this time.”

chris.foster@latimes.com

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