Horns Lose Late: UCLA Downs Texas 20-17

A week after looking listless in a pantsing at home against BYU, Texas competed for a win against 12th-ranked UCLA, taking a 17-13 lead with under 5 minutes to play on Tyrone Swoopes' second touchdown pass of the game.  The Longhorns took another step closer to a victory on the ensuing UCLA possession when Steve Edmond stripped the football and Texas fell on the fumble, retaking possession with less than 4 minutes to play.

Following a quick three-and-out, however, UCLA finally struck with the big play, first with a 45-yard punt return that got the Bruins into Texas territory, and then the dagger: a pump-and-go touchdown pass from 35 yards out that caught Duke Thomas flat footed and the lone safety over the top unable to get over.

There were a number of things to like about the team's performance tonight, but its limitations were still apparent, and the team was hurt by a number of tactical errors -- starting with the coin toss and ending with the punt return and defensive call with a 4-point lead late.

More on the loss in forthcoming posts. This is your commiseration thread.