UCLA will have to stop Texas sophomore quarterback Garrett Gilbert and the No. 7 Longhorns on Saturday in front of a crowded Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. UCLA beat Texas 66-3 the last time the two teams played in 1997.
They won’t be launched in a space shuttle from the Johnson Space Center, but it is time for the UCLA Bruins to leave Houston behind for a bigger adventure.
Fresh off its upset win over Houston at the Rose Bowl, UCLA faces a more daunting task: a date with the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas.
“It’ll be a great atmosphere for college football,” UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.
“I can’t wait. Heard it’s just a crazy environment,” redshirt sophomore running back Johnathan Franklin said.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play Texas,” redshirt sophomore linebacker Patrick Larimore said. “We’re definitely pumped for that atmosphere.”
Appropriately, the Bruins’ words seem cosmic. UCLA (1-2) knocked off then-No. 23 Houston at home, but beating No. 7 Texas (3-0) in Austin would catapult this team to new heights ““ a .500 record, plus an enormous amount of confidence and momentum heading into Pac-10 play.
It won’t come easy against a program that has developed into arguably the best in the country. Texas has achieved a double-digit win total in each of the last nine seasons and has won three Bowl Championship Series bowl games.
But of all the seasons for the Bruins to make the trip to Texas’ 100,000-seat stomping grounds, this might be the best. The Longhorns rank a pedestrian 65th in the country in rushing offense, and they are still in the process of breaking in sophomore quarterback Garrett Gilbert, the replacement for graduated four-year starter Colt McCoy.
While the firepower might be lessened, the trip remains atomic.
“It’s a loud place,” Neuheisel said. “You have to be able to handle that kind of noise and be able to operate at the line of scrimmage. That will be a tall order as we prepare. It looks like one of those places that people are going to remember.”
Like any other important road game, the preparation includes simulated crowd noise during practice.
But perhaps an even greater asset will be the Bruins’ experience in hostile territories, namely Kansas State earlier this season and Tennessee a year ago.
“Just having some experience in those crazy environments can only help us when we go to Texas,” Larimore said.
Ultimately, the outcome of the game will be determined not by the 100,119 fans wearing primarily burnt orange, but by the 22 players down on the field. It will be the case of a rapidly moving object meeting an immovable force. While UCLA’s rushing attack has been one of the most pleasing developments of the early season and is ranked 31st in the country, the Texas run defense is ranked first in the country. Something will have to give.
“They’re a great team,” said Franklin, who could see the bulk of the carries for the second consecutive week. “But we’re ready for them.”
Chances are that readiness will be reciprocated. Although most of the players in the game were in elementary school at the time, folks around the Texas program probably haven’t forgotten UCLA’s last visit to Austin, a 66-3 Bruin victory in September of 1997.
That game helped lead to the hiring of Texas coach Mack Brown, now a longtime colleague of Neuheisel’s and one of the game’s most respected leaders.
Thirteen years later and Texas isn’t going anywhere, but the rematch is a pivotal one for UCLA, in both the short and long runs. A UCLA win in Austin would mean an instant season-changer, as well as an enormous boost for the program. Not to mention something to write home about.
“This is the reason you come here,” Larimore said. “These are the games you live to play for.”