SB Nation Houston - McCoy & Grant Lead Texas Over UCLA, 49-20https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46691/houston-fave.png2011-09-17T21:42:36-05:00http://houston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/21963992011-09-17T21:42:36-05:002011-09-17T21:42:36-05:00Case McCoy & D.J. Grant Lead Offensive Explosion As Texas Rolls UCLA, 49-20
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<p>Pasadena, CA (Sports Network) - <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/114961/case-mccoy">Case McCoy</a> threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-15 passing and the Texas defense forced four turnovers, as the No. 23 Longhorns pummeled the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ucla-bruins">UCLA Bruins</a>, 49-20, at the Rose Bowl.</p>
<p>Malcolm Brown ran 22 times for 110 yards and a score, while <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/8540/foswhitt-whittaker">Foswhitt Whittaker</a> ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns for the Longhorns (3-0).</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/37930/d-j-grant">D.J. Grant</a> caught six passes for 77 yards and three scores, while Mike Davis hauled in three passes for 77 yards.</p>
<p>Kevin Prince had a rough day in defeat, throwing for only 26 yards and three interceptions before getting pulled in the first quarter in favor of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/77889/richard-brehaut">Richard Brehaut</a>.</p>
<p>Brehaut completed eight of his 19 passes for 150 yards, while John Franklin ran 15 times for 58 yards and Derric Coleman ran for 47 yards and two touchdowns.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38224/nelson-rosario">Nelson Rosario</a> grabbed four passes for 68 yards as UCLA (1-2) couldn't sustain momentum from its win over San Jose State last Saturday.</p>
<p>Early in the first quarter, Texas struck first. Following a Prince interception, the Longhorns began the ensuing drive in UCLA territory. On the third play of the drive, McCoy found Grant wide open over the middle for a 45- yard score to put Texas up 7-0.</p>
<p>"He did a good job on numerous plays. I thought he played well for his first start," Texas head coach <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/115256/mack-brown">Mack Brown</a> said. "He's played better in games than he has in practices. I didn't know how much time each quarterback would earn, but Case had a great day today."</p>
<p>Late in the opening quarter, Texas added to its lead when the Longhorn defense picked off Prince for a second time and began the next drive on its own 29. The offense marched 71 yards and capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run by Whittaker for a 14-0 lead.</p>
<p>Following the touchdown, Prince was intercepted for a third time on the ensuing UCLA drive and Texas took over with great field position, starting at its own 43-yard line. The Longhorns swiftly moved the ball down the field, going 57 yards in seven plays and the drive was capped by a 16-yard touchdown run by Brown to put Texas up by three scores.</p>
<p>UCLA got a much-needed touchdown midway through the second quarter to get back into the game. After Prince threw three picks, UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel went with Brehaut to try and turn the momentum. The move paid dividends immediately.</p>
<p>With Brehaut under center, the Bruins offense clicked on all cylinders and they marched 74 yards in 11 plays before Coleman punched the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line.</p>
<p>"I thought Richard played well," Neuheisel said. "I'm anxious to look at the tape. He settled the offense down. He has surged to the lead, no question."</p>
<p>Texas poured in another score with only seconds remaining in the first half to take a 21-point lead. Texas went 59 yards in 11 plays to record the score, but the key play of the drive came with Texas facing 3rd and 18 from the UCLA 27- yard line. McCoy showed his athleticism as he scrambled to his right out of the pocket and found Davis wide open along the sideline for a 25-yard gain and a first down. From the Bruins two, McCoy found Grant in the end zone.</p>
<p>The Bruins pulled some momentum back right before the break as <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38214/jeff-locke">Jeff Locke</a> blasted a 51-yard field goal through the uprights to make it 28-10.</p>
<p>Locke connected on another long field goal attempt on UCLA's first possession of the second half, this one from 49 yards out to make it 28-13.</p>
<p>But McCoy and the Texas offense kept buzzing. On the ensuing possession, the Longhorns marched 71 yards in six plays, highlighted by a big 45-yard completion to Davis on third down, and Grant caught a five-yard touchdown pass to make it a 35-13 game.</p>
<p>UCLA scored on its next possession as Brehaut led the Bruins on a 10-play, 55- yard drive. Franklin ran right up of the gut of the Texas defense down to the five-yard line and Coleman finally was able to push his way into the end zone on fourth-and-goal after being stopped on his first three tries.</p>
<p>Texas again had an answer, as Whittaker burst through the line unblocked for a 36-yard touchdown run and a 42-20 lead.</p>
<p>The Longhorns put the icing on the cake with about three minutes to go in the game when Cody Johnson finished off an 11-play, 50-yard drive with a seven- yard touchdown run to account for the final score.</p>
<p>It was McCoy's first career collegiate start. His older brother Colt, who now is the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, also played for Texas... This marks the fifth straight year and ninth time in the 14 years under head coach Mack Brown that the Longhorns have opened the season with at least three straight wins.</p>
https://houston.sbnation.com/2011/9/17/2432360/case-mccoy-d-j-grant-lead-offensive-explosion-as-texas-rolls-ucla-49playmaker1732011-09-17T10:57:09-05:002011-09-17T10:57:09-05:00Longhorns Travel To UCLA, Hoping To Stay Unbeaten
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<p>Now that Garrett Gilbert has officially been unseated by a combo of David Ash and Case McCoy, will Texas' pedestrian offense be effective?</p> <p>GAME NOTES: The 23rd-ranked <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/texas-longhorns">Texas Longhorns</a> swing into Pasadena this weekend for a non-league clash with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/ucla-bruins">UCLA Bruins</a>, who are fresh off their first win of the season.</p>
<p>Texas was No. 7 in the country last season when the Bruins stormed into Austin and beat the Longhorns by 22 points, and now <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/115256/mack-brown">Mack Brown</a>'s club is looking for payback and a 3-0 start heading into next weekend's bye.</p>
<p>Texas whipped Rice in the opener, but had to come from behind last weekend in the fourth quarter with two young quarterbacks to beat BYU 17-16 after starter Garrett Gilbert was benched. Gilbert is now the third stringer going into the matchup with UCLA, with Brown deciding to rotate sophomore <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/114961/case-mccoy">Case McCoy</a> and freshman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/134590/david-ash">David Ash</a> against the Bruins.</p>
<p>"We felt like Case and David are listed either or on the depth chart, or that's the way it should be," said Brown. "But we thought Case did a good job on the final drive for sure to lead to points. We thought David still brings that different dimension."</p>
<p>UCLA couldn't keep up with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/15573/case-keenum">Case Keenum</a> in a season-opening loss to Houston, but it grinded out a 27-17 win over San Jose State last weekend at home to get its first win of the year. UCLA did it in large part by committing to the run in the second half and causing two interceptions to pull away.</p>
<p>"We're excited about our first win of the 2011 season. It was tougher than maybe we had hoped, but you have to give a lot of credit to San Jose State," said UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel. "They played very well, especially in front."</p>
<p>The Texas matchup will be UCLA's final non-league matchup before heading into PAC-12 play next weekend with a trip to Corvallis to meet Oregon State.</p>
<p>UCLA leads the all-time series 3-2, including last season's 34-12 rout of the Longhorns in Austin.</p>
<p>Gilbert was disappointing in the opener against Rice, and Brown had seen enough after the junior started the BYU game 2-of-8 for eight yards with two interceptions. McCoy put together the game-winning drive, and finished 7-of-8 for 57 yards. He rotated snaps with Ash, who finished 2-of-3 for 35 yards. Texas had just 289 yards of total yards against the Cougars, and is averaging 397.5 through two games.</p>
<p>While the Longhorns are still searching for their identity offensively, the team has found a couple of young gems at running back and receiver. True freshman phenom Malcolm Brown has been strong in his first two collegiate games at running back, running for 154 yards on 30 carries, while true freshman <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/134587/jaxon-shipley">Jaxon Shipley</a> has five catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.</p>
<p>Brown called Shipley "the most valuable player on offense" in both wins against Rice and BYU.</p>
<p>The Texas defense was stellar against BYU's running attack, holding the Cougars to 43 yards on 22 carries (1.9 yard per carry average). The saving grace for the Longhorns was the unit's ability to keep BYU out of the end zone and force three field goals, all of which were 33 yards or shorter. Texas is only allowing 12.5 yards per game and has given up just 173 yards on the ground. Perhaps the most promising statistic has been the Longhorns' ability to shorten drives and get the ball back to its offense, with Rice and BYU going a combined 7-of-26 on third down and scoring just one touchdown between them (1-of-6 in the red zone.) <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/37906/emmanuel-acho">Emmanuel Acho</a> has lived up to the preseason hype and has been versatile from his linebacker post, registering 23 tackles (two for loss and two quarterback hits) with one pass defended and one broken up.</p>
<p>The Bruins started rolling offensively in the second half against San Jose State, racking up 221 of its 272 yards in the final two quarters to get a handle on a close game with the Spartans. Running back <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38203/derrick-coleman">Derrick Coleman</a> had 135 yards rushing and has solidified his spot in the backfield alongside <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38186/johnathan-franklin">Johnathan Franklin</a>, who has scored touchdowns in each of his last three games for the Bruins, and in five of the last six games dating back to last season.</p>
<p>"Yes, they've got two great backs. You look at [Johnathan] Franklin and [Derrick] Coleman, and they're both older backs who played really well against us last year," said Brown. "Their running game will be a lot better than Brigham Young's running game."</p>
<p>UCLA is averaging 30.5 points per game and is averaging 485.5 yards of total offense through the first two games. Franklin leads the team in rushing with 209 yards and two scores, with an impressive 6.5 yard per carry average, while quarterback <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/77889/richard-brehaut">Richard Brehaut</a> has completed 29-of-49 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns since replacing the injured <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38189/kevin-prince">Kevin Prince</a> in the opener. UCLA has not allowed a sack through two games.</p>
<p>With the score tied for much of the second half, the Bruin defense came up with interceptions in the third and fourth quarter, the first stalled a possible go-ahead score by the Spartans and the latter set up a field goal that broke a 17-17 tie.</p>
<p>"Defensively we saw some real improvement from week one. At the end of the game, we started to fly around and make plays," said Neuheisel.</p>
<p>UCLA was hurt in the passing game by Houston, while San Jose State was able to post 202 yards rushing; the Bruins are allowing six yards per carry. The turnovers were key against San Jose State. Linebacker <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38192/sean-westgate">Sean Westgate</a> picked one of those passes off and has been one of the best performers for UCLA, posting 12 tackles and a pass deflection in addition to his pick.</p>
<p>Many would assume that both teams took steps back last weekend despite winning against inferior opponents. This is an intriguing matchup because the Texas quarterback experiment is now going on the road - to the Rose Bowl nonetheless. A week after struggling against the run, expect UCLA to load the box and force the young guns to beat them. The Bruins have a good one-two punch in runners Franklin and Coleman, but expect Texas to win the battle up front and continue to play well against the run. Texas will find a way with its young quarterbacks to get the job done and avenge last year's embarrassing meltdown against UCLA.</p>
<p>Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Texas 20, UCLA 14</p>
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