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No. 12 UCLA meets Texas Saturday in Arlington
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Published: 9/13/2014  at  5:13:00 AM
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UCLA BRUINS (2-0)
vs. TEXAS LONGHORNS (1-1)

AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX
Kickoff: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: UCLA -7, Total: 50

Texas looks to bounce back from a blowout loss to BYU as they meet No. 12 UCLA in Arlington, TX on Saturday night.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

These two teams last played in 2011, with the Longhorns traveling to California and winning 49-20. In that game, Texas RB Malcolm Brown (then a freshman) rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. The Longhorns outrushed the Bruins 284 to 141 in that win, and will look to dominate the line of scrimmage on Saturday. In last week's 41-7 loss to BYU, the Longhorns were outrushed 248 to 82. The team was missing starting QB David Ash (concussion) and three offensive linemen (C Dominic Espinosa, OT Desmond Harrison and OT Kennedy Estelle), and the offense could not do anything at all. The Bruins are still looking for that complete team performance, as they are coming off a narrow 42-35 win against 22-point underdog Memphis. UCLA has one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Brett Hundley, who played much better after a tough first week. He will need a big performance, as the Bruins should be facing an angry Texas team. The Bruins are 3-1 (SU and ATS) in this series since 1997, and are 10-4 ATS in the past three seasons after playing a game where 70+ points were scored. The Longhorns are hoping that Charlie Strong's 9-0 ATS away mark coming off an SU loss as a college head coach will continue with his new team. In addition to Ash and three O-Linemen being out for this game, the Longhorns will likely be missing top WR Jaxon Shipley (head), RB Daje Johnson (disciplinary) and DB Josh Turner (suspension).

Can Texas bounce back from last week's loss to score an upset win in its home state? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season. During the 2013 season, StatFox Dave led the experts with a 55% ATS mark (38-31-2), while Gary and Brian both finished with another winning season (51% ATS). StatFox Scott saved his best for last with a 5-2 ATS mark (71%) in college football bowl Best Bets.

In the Bruins 42-35 victory last weekend against Memphis, QB Brett Hundley threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns. That was a change from Week 1, when three defensive touchdowns are what UCLA needed to get the narrow 28-20 victory at 19-point underdog Virginia. Entering Saturday, the Bruins rank 24th in passing (319 YPG), 55th in scoring (35.0 PPG) and 99th in rushing (130 YPG) in FBS. For UCLA to reach its full potential, the team needs to rush the football better, which will open things up even more for Hundley and the passing game. Paul Perkins (178 rushing yards, 2 TD) has the talent to be a very good ball carrier, rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the win against Memphis. Hundley has shown the ability to run the ball (65 yards this season), but the team can’t have him be the leading rusher on the team. WR Thomas Duarte (4 catches, 110 yards, 2 TD) had a breakout game against Memphis, providing the Bruins with a big-play threat. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Duarte is a big physical receiver who can also run away from the defense with speed. He will have opportunities against a Texas defense reeling from a tough performance. On defense for the Bruins, this is an opportunistic unit that thrives on making the big play. DB Ishmael Adams, who has 12 tackles and one interception for a touchdown, is an elite playmaker with the ability to change the game in a hurry. The Bruins rank 84th in the nation in scoring defense (27.5 PPG), and like the offense in Week 1, they are looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance where they allowed Memphis to gain 469 total yards.

The Charlie Strong era got off to a nice start with a season-opening 38-7 victory against North Texas, but took a major step back against BYU last week, allowing 429 total yards. The Longhorns currently rank 100th in FBS passing (183 YPG), 105th in rushing (122.5 YPG) and 106th in scoring (22.5 PPG). Last week against the Cougars, the Longhorns were missing three offensive linemen to suspension and injuries, while also missing starting QB David Ash (concussion). QB Tyrone Swoopes (176 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) is a very talented player, but as a sophomore, is still learning the game. He is similar to Hundley in his size (6-foot-4, 243 pounds), and has the ability to make plays with his legs as well. However, if the Longhorns are going to be in this game, they will have to get big performances from the running backs. The duo of RBs Johnathan Gray (14 carries, 47 yards) and Malcolm Brown (14 carries, 28 yards) was very disappointing against the Cougars, but a large part of that is because of the offensive line. Wide receiver John Harris (8 catches, 77 yards, 1 TD in Week 2) is a nice playmaker, but an improved rushing game would make him a bigger weapon for the offense. As bad as the offense was against BYU, the defense was even worse. The Cougars for the second straight season just manhandled the Longhorns. The missed tackles of Texas played a huge role in this game, as the BYU offensive players made a lot of plays after contact. CB Quandre Diggs (eight tackles, 1 INT) is a talented player, and also one of the Texas leaders. After the loss to BYU, he questioned if his team has the heart to compete. A lot of times in sports when that happens, the team responds with a great effort. The Longhorns have the talent to compete with UCLA, but must play much harder.


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