Texas-UCLA final score: 3 things we learned from the Bruins’ 20-17 win

Neither Texas nor No. 12 UCLA managed to impress in the first half of Saturday night’s affair, but a frenzied second half made things much more interesting. The Bruins rode a late punt return and a perfect touchdown pass to a 20-17 victory, maintaining their perfect record with a third straight close win.

A coin-toss mistake gave UCLA both half-opening kick returns (they were only able to score on one -- more on that later). The two teams traded field goals to start out the game, with the score 3-3 heading close to halftime.

An early injury to UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley forced the Bruins to play the rest of the game with Jerry Neuheisel at quarterback. The Bruins weren’t the only one playing with a second-stringer behind center -- Tyrone Swoopes started for Texas in place of the injured David Ash. The talented sophomore completed his first 11 pass attempts, and found M.J. McFarland in the end zone for a two-yard score.

UCLA came running out of the gate in the second half, leading to their first touchdown of the game. Paul Perkins took the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter for 58 yards, and Neuheisel found Nate Iese in the end zone for the three-yard score to tie up the game.

On fourth-and-one in Texas territory in the fourth quarter, linebacker Myles Jack made an appearance at running back in an attempt to pick up the short yardage. He was almost brought down in the backfield, but powered through and around the Longhorns’ defense for the first down. Ka’imi Fairbairn ended up hitting the 25-yard field goal later in the drive to take the 13-10 lead.

The Texas offense finally put together another quality drive late in the fourth, driving 10 plays for 80 yards to take the lead. Swoopes completed all five of his passes on the drive, including three to John Harris -- one a big third-down conversion, one a 13-yard play and one an 8-yard touchdown.

Two drives later, UCLA struck. Texas was forced to punt after a three-and-out, and Ishmael Adams’s 45-yard return gave the Bruins the ball at the 33. On the first play from scrimmage, Neuheisel floated a perfect pass to Jordan Payton for the touchdown, giving UCLA the 20-17 lead.

The Bruins held the Longhorns on downs on the next drive, clinching the victory.

1. UCLA without Brett Hundley is...troubling. The defense came to play, but they showed no signs of being able to move the ball consistently until the end. Neuheisel’s limitations as a passer forced the Bruins to run almost entirely screen plays and runs, and Texas was more than capable of handling the former. The UCLA quarterback completed 23 of 30 passes for 178 yards, but you can’t argue with that game-winning touchdown.

2. Tyrone Swoopes has a future at Texas. The young quarterback didn’t end up running all that much, but he used his legs quite well to scramble out of the pocket and allow his receivers to make room. Swoopes’s numbers weren’t all that impressive -- the sophomore finished the game 24 of 34 for 196 yards and two scores, running eight times for 11 yards -- but he showed flashes of excellence at times (specifically the two touchdown drives). He ended up drawing comparisons to Vince Young from Gus Johnson after leading the Longhorns to the leading score, and looked as impressive as he ever has in his young Texas career.

3. UCLA’s defense will continue to keep them in games. The Bruins gave up a number of points against Memphis, but their defense is the reason they came away with wins against Virginia and Texas. Eric Kendricks and Myles Jack were among the numerous UCLA defenders who came up with big plays, and the Bruins are 3-0 for the third straight year.