The UCLA Bruins host the Texas Longhorns on Saturday afternoon at the Rose Bowl, looking for their second straight win at home. After a sluggish 27-17 win over the unheralded San Jose State Spartans, UCLA is looking for improvement on offense. The Bruins have yet to name a starter at quarterback, but both Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut are expected to be ready to play.
"We're fortunate that we're pretty healthy," said head coach Rick Neuheisel, who said that Prince is back and healthy after missing the game against San Jose State with a concussion. Senior outside linebacker Glenn Love also missed the game against San Jose State with a shoulder injury, but he is expected to play against Texas.
Neuheisel expects competition between Prince and Brehaut. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Prince will get the nod given how Neuheisel described the offense against San Jose State. "We're missing some plays that we have to hit to keep drives alive. Four of 13 on third down in a game like cost you significantly," Neuheisel said. "We were not efficient enough last week. We didn't execute the way we're capable of in the throw game."
Brehaut threw for 145 yards against the Spartans, completing 12 of 23 passes.
Still, when pressed, Neuheisel wouldn't commit to Prince, adding, "I'll need to know if Kevin is healthy before he is considered to be the starter."
"We're going to make sure everybody understands that these jobs are always open. It's why we're talking about competition at center, it's why we're talking about competition at quarterback, it's why we're talking about competition" said Neuheisel. "We've got to have guys playing their tails off during the week so we can expect that kind of effort and that kind of execution on Saturdays."
Texas (2-0) is ranked No. 24 in the latest Associated Press poll, and are No. 21 in the USA Today coaches poll. UCLA throttled Texas 34-12 in Austin in 2010.
Saturday afternoon's 12:30 p.m. PDT game will be televised by ABC/ESPN. For more news and information on UCLA football, be sure to read Bruins Nation.