Extra Points: Underdog Bruins could use another Lone Star win

There are two ways to look at the Bruins’ win over then-No. 23 Houston on Saturday.

One way to look at it is that UCLA got lucky. Case Keenum got injured, then the Cougars’ second-string quarterback got hurt, and the Bruins took advantage.

But the other way to look at the Bruins’ win ““ the way I’m going to choose to look at it ““ is that the Bruins may have found their niche.

Despite Prince’s continued inability to effectively throw the ball out of the pistol, he was great handing it off to Johnathan Franklin, who ran all over the Cougars to the tune of 158 yards and three touchdowns.

And ironically enough, Prince even seemed to ditch the throw a little bit, rushing for 60 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries, as opposed to completing nine out of 17 passes for 99 yards and an interception.

And what do you know, the Bruins have found life in the form of running the football.

So heading into what many feel will be a massacre at the hands of Texas on Saturday, there are a few outlying factors that seem to have given the Bruins a small amount of hope.

One of those, as I mentioned, is the consistent progress of the Bruins’ rushing attack in the pistol offense.

Granted, Houston’s defense can’t hold a torch to the Longhorns’ D, which ranks second in the nation and allows little more than 200 yards a game. But what Saturday’s victory did was give UCLA momentum.

And in sports, momentum has the potential to be all that matters.

Franklin has been successful running the ball so far this season, and his numbers have gone up with each game. Undoubtedly, Franklin knows he will be the central focus of the Bruins’ offense this Saturday and looks comfortable in that role.

In addition, Prince has shown the ability to get out of the pocket and run with the ball. Even though he doesn’t quite know the meaning of “take a sack,” KP’s agility and willingness to run paid off last week.

Hopefully, he’ll continue to run, but will pick and choose his opportunities wisely.

Another bit of silver-lining that could help the Bruins pull off the unthinkable is the Longhorns’ inexperience at the quarterback position.

To put it bluntly, sophomore Garrett Gilbert, who took over for Colt McCoy, hasn’t looked all that special.

Gilbert has managed the Texas offense well but has yet to have a breakout game. Last week against Texas Tech, he threw for two touchdowns, but he also totaled three interceptions.

With Rahim Moore in the secondary and Akeem Ayers at linebacker ““ both of whom had momentum-changing interceptions off of Keenum on Saturday ““ the Bruins can possibly change the tide of the game once again with similar big plays from their defensive superstars.

And considering Moore was tops in the NCAA in interceptions last season and was tabbed as a preseason All-American, a big performance on national television would suit his NFL stock quite well.

Once again, the statistics don’t bode well for UCLA. Texas is No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 4 in the Coaches’ Poll. The Longhorns have won 17 home games in a row, a streak they’ll be looking to continue, especially with the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners coming to town next week.

But we must not forget that just last week, the odds were stacked against the seemingly ill-fated Bruins as they were set to take on Houston.

The Cougars were averaging 61 points per game and the Bruins held them to 13. UCLA is also notorious for not being able to score touchdowns or convert on third down. Against Houston, the Bruins scored four touchdowns and converted five third downs, as well as a fourth down attempt.

Texas should win. They are the favorite, and UCLA is the overwhelming underdog. But one thing we can’t dismiss is the purpose of picking a favorite in the first place: So we can all bask in the shock when they get upset.