Leading by 14 points just before halftime, Texas quarterback Case McCoy was leading the Longhorns offense down the field.
The UCLA defense was looking to stiffen, to keep the game within reach, knowing full well the offense would get the ball after halftime with a chance to make it a one-score game.
The Bruins had already given up three first downs on the drive but with a little help from a personal foul penalty because of an illegal block, McCoy and the Longhorns were staring at a third-and-long situation, 18 yards to be exact. Forcing a field goal seemed to be all but a formality.
That was when it all came undone. That was when UCLA’s Achilles’ heel thus far this season reared its ugly head. McCoy ““ sensing a blitz ““ rolled to his left where UCLA redshirt junior defensive end Damien Holmes dove at his feet.
Back to his right, McCoy somehow escaped a Bruin sandwich made by sophomore tackle Cassius Marsh and redshirt sophomore safety Alex Mascarenas.
Holmes gets up and whiffs again before redshirt junior defensive end Datone Jones finally reaches McCoy, but by then it was too late. He had already thrown a 25-yard desperation pass that found its way into the arms of Texas receiver Mike Davis. Texas would score on the next play to make it 28-7, effectively putting the game out of reach.
The inability to tackle has troubled UCLA fans and players alike since the team’s season opening loss to Houston. Statisticians only keep track of tackles made, but if they charted swings and misses, Neuheisel’s Bruins would surely be at the top of the list.
“We just didn’t tackle real well,” coach Rick Neuheisel said after the opener. “We’re going to make that a huge point of emphasis. We thought we had done so, but apparently we haven’t done enough.”
Coaches claim after watching film that the tackling has improved over the first three weeks of the season but the results haven’t. First-year defensive coordinator Joe Tresey’s defense is giving up close to 35 points (ranked 103rd in the NCAA) and over 400 yards (ranked 100th in NCAA) per game.
Why can’t the Bruins tackle? As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect. No practice makes, well, missed tackles. Outside of games, the UCLA defense hasn’t participated in full tackling in practice since its fall scrimmage on Aug. 20. Full contact drills were in more abundance last season but so were injuries. Two starters were lost for the season during fall camp.
Tackling drills in practice consist of “thudding up” or practicing technique.
“We try to stay off the ground because when people end up on the ground, that’s when they have a good chance of getting hurt,” Tresey said. “There probably aren’t a lot of teams that tackle fully during the season.”
One team that does practices a handful of miles away from UCLA’s Spaulding Field. USC took the conservative route last season for fear of injuries but struggled on the defensive side of the ball. This season, coach Lane Kiffin has opted for full contact three days a week and is reaping the benefits. The Trojans are 3-0 and giving up just 16 points per game.
“We’ve had some injuries throughout camp due to that but we’re a better tackling team,” Kiffin said. “I’m glad we did it this way this year because the last thing you want to do is keep something the same if it’s not working.”
Regardless of what’s going on across town, Neuheisel isn’t changing his ways despite having more depth at nearly every position than he has in any of his previous three seasons.
He used the same practice during previous coaching stints at Washington and Colorado, but he’s leaving his options open if the problem persists.
“The problem with doing live tackling is you put your team at risk,” Neuheisel said. “While we understand need to do it in actual fashion, lots of bodies around may not be the right recipe. We’ll continue to talk about that.”
For the most part, Neuheisel’s players insist that the individual tackling drills in practice prepare them for game action.
“Tackling is an attitude,” sophomore safety Dietrich Riley said.
“You have to want to bring someone down, and if you don’t, you’ve let your teammates down.”