ARLINGTON, Texas — If there is anything to be said about this UCLA football team three weeks into the season, it is this: expect the unexpected.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jerry Neuheisel guiding the team back from a halftime deficit, with starting redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley nursing an injured left elbow on the sidelines? Neuheisel, who had yet to take a college snap of any real consequence, delivering the game-winning pass late in the fourth quarter?
Improbable. Unpredictable. At times near-miraculous. And yes, unexpected.
But not really.
For the third consecutive week, the Bruins found a way to win. No. 12 UCLA (3-0) pulled off its greatest escape yet – this time by way of a game-winning 33-yard touchdown pass from Neuheisel to junior receiver Jordan Payton – to edge Texas (1-2) in a thrilling, come-from-behind 20-17 victory at AT&T; Stadium.
Prior to the start of the season, most said there was one thing that would almost certainly derail a UCLA football team that expected to contend for championships: an injury to Hundley.
So when UCLA’s resident Heisman hopeful exited early in the first quarter after landing on his left arm, game over, right?
Not quite.
“You’re just kind of ready for it. Obviously, there’s some nerves. But your job as a backup quarterback is to go in and take control and lead your team to victory,” Neuheisel said.
Trailing 10-3 at halftime, with the Bruins having managed 129 yards of total offense and a paltry 1.9 yards per carry in the first half, such a prospect seemed unlikely.
And then, of course, something unexpected happened.
Redshirt sophomore running back Paul Perkins took the first handoff of the second half 58 yards down the field, into Texas territory. Suddenly, a sluggish, dormant UCLA offense was alive. Five plays later, Neuheisel tossed his first career touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore fullback Nate Iese to knot the score at 10 apiece. And just like that, the Bruins had not only tied the game but seized the momentum that had been all Texas’ at halftime.
With the player responsible for generating so much of the Bruins’ offense on the sideline with a headset and a large wrap instead of a helmet, UCLA turned to an unlikely cast to pull off the victory. A beleaguered offensive line continued to regularly open up holes for Perkins, who finished the game with 126 yards on 24 carries for his first-ever 100-yard performance.
What was expected from the Bruins, though maybe not after last week’s performance against Memphis, was a stout defensive. However, the Bruins were dominant on Saturday.
Texas managed just 54 yards in the third quarter, while sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes was consistently bothered by a UCLA defense that had managed just one sack in its first two games.
Time and time again, the UCLA defense came up with the big stop, none bigger than the three-and-out it forced after a late fourth-quarter fumble by redshirt senior running back Jordon James seemed to doom the Bruins.
“We knew what we needed to accomplish,” said sophomore defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes. “Let’s get the job done, lets get off the field, let’s do what we do every day in practice. That was the mindset.”
One 45-yard punt return by junior cornerback Ishmael Adams later and Neuheisel was positioned to become the game’s most unlikely hero.
A double-move by Payton, a pump fake by Neuheisel and a perfect toss to the end zone. Who could’ve seen it coming?
“I knew I had single coverage and I knew I was going to him the whole time,” Neuheisel said. “I looked over, saw the cornerback’s eyes and as soon as I saw his eyes, I go ‘oh my god, this might actually work,’ (and I) threw it up, and the rest is history.”
Many would’ve thought that the same was true for UCLA’s season when Neuheisel took the field.
Instead, there he was being lifted up and carried off by his teammates after the game, the Bruin faithful chanting his name.
”You couldn’t write a better script than this right here,” said coach Jim Mora.
One certainly shouldn’t expect to, at least not until the next game.